Living Proof
by Macx
Summary: When his mother stepped back into his life, Nick knew he would have trouble explaining some aspects of it to her. Like being best friends with a blutbad. Like his network of wesen allies. Like... Sean Renard; his mate. Part of the Fate Lines series
1. Chapter 1

TITLE: Living Proof

SERIES: Fate Lines

SPOILERS: Bad Teeth

AUTHOR: Macx

DISCLAIMER: None of the characters belongs to me, sadly. They are owned by people with a lot more money :)

FEEDBACK: Loved

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Author's Note: This was too good to pass up, even for my universe. I took some of the information given on Nick's mother and used it to fit into this AU (which branched off from the canon line a while ago). I'm not following the Season 2 storyline for obvious reasons! If you're looking for some plot points from the latest episodes you'll be disappointed. I just picked what I could use :)

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His emotions were in upheaval, everything was coming down around him, and Nick Burkhardt was trying to stay afloat in everything that came at him with the force of a nuclear explosion.

His mother was alive.

It had all been a lie.

Someone else had died in her place.

She had disappeared from everyone's radar and had remained an unknown factor for eighteen years.

His mind tried to wrap itself around that fact.

Eighteen years! No one… not a single person… had known she was alive. And she had still worked as a Grimm, had spread fear and terror and misery through the wesen world, trying to find the killers of her husband and her best friend, who had taken her place that fateful night.

Nick couldn't deal with it. He couldn't… couldn't think about her hiding so long, never contacting Marie or later him.

It felt like abandonment all over again.

Still they had talked. Like two strangers, not like mother and son. She had told him about the seven Royal Families, about the Verrat, about everything that had led to her being top of their hit list. Two Grimms and their teenage son.

She had been entrusted with the coins of Zakynthos, a relic so madly sought-after that bodies littered the path of everyone trying to find them. Kelly Burkhardt had paid for her duty, had lost everything, because she had been betrayed. She didn't know by whom.

It was like a fairy tale, like a strange movie that reminded Nick of a life he might have had before his world had shattered at the age of twelve.

It didn't feel like anything he knew.

Kelly in turn had tried to catch up with his life, but her expression had turned cold and dark and downright terrifying when Nick had slowly eased her into his world.

With a blutbad as his best friend.

A jagerbar who had taught him so much and who he considered a good friend, too.

With eisbiber who had close to adopted him into their clan.

With wesen neighbors who were looking out for him, had his back despite being natural prey and not predators.

And a regnant who ruled Portland and who was his partner; in more ways than just one.

The verbal sparring fight that had ensued out of that had Nick step back and finally shake off the shock of seeing his mother.

She didn't approve.

She never would.

He wasn't the Grimm she would have raised.

But no one had raised him into this world! No one had told him about his possible heritage! Nick had fallen into this nightmare with barely a warning and all Marie had been able to do was give him a little advise to kill the bad ones. And the key to the trailer. After that… Nick had been completely on his own, trusting his gut, trusting Monroe, and later Renrad.

He was different, catch-and-release Sean had called him, and he was proud of how he handled matters. He wouldn't kill if he didn't have. He took no pleasure from the abject terror his presence inflicted on some wesen, and he always, always tried to reason first.

It was just him.

He wouldn't lose that.

"You don't know the rules of this world, Nick!" Kelly argued.

"Of course I don't!" Nick shot back furiously. "Because I had no one to ask! I had only gruesome visions and nightmarish books. But I know enough."

"Taught to you by a wesen? A regnant?!"

"And a jagerbar and a wieder-blutbad and a fuchsbau and so many more! I read the books Aunt Marie left me! I know there are bad things out there, but not every wesen is a night terror waiting to tear someone's heart or throat out! Monroe is reformed…"

She snorted. Nick glared.

"He had ample opportunity to take me out. He didn't. He actually risked his life more than once to save mine! I owe him a lot."

"You can't trust a blutbad, Nick!"

"Why not?" he demanded. "Because some old books tell me they are all evil?"

"They are predators without conscience! They kill and maim and spread death!"

"He's a wieder!"

"Once a blutbad, always a blutbad! You can't trust any of them!"

"I trust a friend. My best friend, mom! I trust all of them!"

She turned and walked a few paces, then shook her head. "Why did Marie do this?" she asked.

"She did what she thought was best. And it worked."

"You are bound to a wesen, Nick!"

"I'm partnered with Sean Renard," he corrected her, teeth gritted.

"He is part of the Royal Families!"

"I know his so-called family. I know his affiliations. I know him, mom! I really do!"

She shook her head again. "Maybe not as well as you think you do. Nick, you can never trust a wesen not to betray you!"

Anger swamped the still lingering confusion. He knew his and Renard's roles in this, knew how much power he had over the older man. He had seen it when their differences a few months back and made him shield himself. Renard had suffered, but he had waited, had had to wait because it was the mate's decision. A regnant was unable to force their mate into anything.

It had never been clearer than back then.

"You know nothing about what happened in the last eighteen years! Nothing at all! You had your own crusade and left me here to deal with what and who I am! You have no right to tell me anything about my own instincts and gut feelings! I survived on my own, without help, without any kind of preparation as to what being a Grimm entails. I survived, mom! And I owe it to a lot of people, who happen to be wesen!"

Her dark eyes were filled with the pain of being reminded of her loss, her deceit, and an anger that was hard to pinpoint.

"Just because you never trusted any of them…" Nick broke off, clearly choking on emotions. "Aunt Marie was engaged to a steinadler!" he finally blurted.

Kelly briefly closed her eyes. "Engaged," she murmured. "Yes. I knew him."

"So you know not all of them are evil!"

"I haven't trusted in eighteen years, Nick."

"And now you can't even trust me?!"

Her expression shifted, pain and longing and an ancient distrust of anything wesen rose. Nick curled his fingers into fists.

"Right," he snarled.

"Nick…"

"No!" he interrupted. "No! This is my life! I'm not the Grimm they get told about in their nightmarish tales!"

"No, you are not," she said softly.

Nick scrubbed a hand over his face, through his hair. He was trembling a little.

"I'm not going to change into a nightmare either," he added, voice softer. "Never."

His mother was silent, clearly still shocked about most of what she had found, what she hadn't expected.

"I can see that," she finally said.

Nick refused to be baited. "Why did you come back now?" he asked.

"The coins," his mother said.

Yes, the coins. He had dealt with them; he had spread them everywhere and hidden them. No one could destroy them, but keeping three together was too dangerous.

Nick told her that.

Kelly's features froze and darkened. "Where did you hide them, Nick? They need to be destroyed."

"I thought no one could destroy them."

"The forge where they were created can destroy them," his mother said.

"And you want them to take them there?"

"Yes."

Nick hesitated.

"You know how much evil they cause! We are the only ones mostly immune to their influence!"

"I know, mom. I saw the results."

He had seen the death. He had seen the naked hunger in the eyes of those lusting after them. He had seen the change in Farley Kolt, a man his aunt had loved and who had fallen under their siren song. He had witnessed it with Renard, who had suddenly felt their power as teasing caresses over his mind and soul. He had listened to their whispers and he had tried to follow their call.

She looked slightly pinched. "Do you still know where they are?"

"Two, yes. The other was tossed and lost."

Kelly exhaled sharply. "Two are better than none. One alone isn't as powerful. If the Families get their hands on them… They want to rule the world. The coins would give them the edge they need."

"So you want to look for the two and destroy them."

"Yes."

"I didn't really draw up any plans…"

She smiled a little. "I'll find them. Tell me where you hid them."

Nick hesitated. Then, "I can come with you."

"And it would lead your Guardian to them."

He grimaced. Sean would easily fall for the coins again; he just knew it.

"Nick, where are they?"

So he told her. Three very different places, one impossible to really get to, but his mother's expression was determined.

When Nick turned back from getting them both a soda, Kelly was gone.

The young Grimm stood in the silent kitchen, confused, angry, feeling abandoned and betrayed in one, emotions raging all over the place.

tbc...


	2. Chapter 2

I want to thank everyone for their positive reviews. I wasn't sure I still had what it takes to write Grimm because yes, flamers seem to happen. Grimm is the first fandom I was trolled. Anyway, on with the good stuff. My braincell is in overdrive!

X

When the news reached him, Sean Renard hadn't believed the messenger. He had outright thought it to be a lie, a ruse, a very bad joke. Then Adalind had come and confirmed her sister's news. Her expression had been one of barely contained shock and just about hidden fear. It took a lot to rattle the hexenbiest and a new Grimm in Portland did the job admirably. Especially since this new Grimm had a very definite connection to a different Grimm, who was a valued and protected ally.

"We don't know how she entered the Protectorate without anyone noticing her. We can't explain it," Adalind finished her brief report, looking highly uncomfortable.

Renard scowled. A Grimm of Kelly Burkhardt's caliber should have come up on someone's radar, but she hadn't. She had slipped in without a wesen sensing the dangerous predator.

Damn!

It was like a personal offense, like she had done it to irk him personally. Whether she was aware of Portland being a Guardian's city was debatable, but he wouldn't bet on it. She had connection, he was sure of that. No one could play dead for close to two decades and not be aware of what was going on in this particular city she had come to.

And she had come for a reason.

His scowl deepened.

Kelly Burkhardt, sister of Marie Kessler, mother of Nick Burkhardt, one of the fiercest Grimms to be known beside her deceased sister, was alive. She was truly alive. And kicking. Very much kicking.

Nick had already been confronted by the truth.

Renard was silently reeling with it, wondering where the heck his usually so perfectly informed network had gone wrong, had failed. Had Marie known? Probably not. At the time she had come to him to make her deal with the Protector of Portland she had been desperate. Dying, aware that her death would most likely trigger her nephew's abilities completely – emotional shock was a good trigger as such - throwing Nick into a tank full of sharks out for his blood. She had wanted Nick safe and under watch from a Guardian, and she had laid down her life for him, so to speak. Had she known about her sister she would have tried to reach her.

Or not?

Sean felt a growl rise, his perfect control slip-sliding away from under him, and Adalind watched him guardedly.

"Where is she?" he asked.

"Currently at the Grimm's home."

He gave a curt nod. "Is anyone watching her?"

The hexenbiest looked almost terrified and it confirmed Renard's suspicion that Kelly Burkhardt had already left her mark on his city.

He wouldn't have that.

He would have to deal with the threat the way he dealt with any threat, with the small exception that it was something personal for his mate, too. Where he would normally send out a very special servant to take care of the threat, he would now have to objectively analyze every aspect of what he could do and judge the worst possible outcome of everything he might have at his beck and call.

"Who did she kill?" he asked evenly, interpreting Adalind's reaction correctly.

"One of the schakale who were lingering around the Protectorate, searching for any clue where the coins might be."

Yes, the coins. Still a threat despite their disappearance. Renard had done everything he could to make sure rumor had spread that someone had taken them away from his Territory. Still, schakale came and went. The reapers laid low, aware they would suffer greatly should they threaten the Grimm. The schakale had no such qualms.

That Nick's not so dead mother had killed one confirmed Renard's suspicions.

"And now she is with Nick," he stated.

"Yes."

Renard turned to look out the window. He didn't like it, but he would keep his distance for now. It was the only viable move he could make without endangering Nick or revealing himself too soon.

"Look for her trail," he ordered. "I want to know where she came from, whom she might have met or talked to. If she is looking for the coins herself I want her monitored. If she came for Nick, I'll handle the matter personally."

Adalind nodded. "She was the original keeper of the coins at the time she was supposedly killed," she added.

Renard's eyes narrowed a little.

"She might have heard that they reappeared here," the hexenbiest elaborated. "So she revealed herself to Nick."

He nodded slowly. "Monitor," he only repeated.

And she walked out of his apartment, leaving the tall figure in front of the windows, gazing out over his city.

X X X

It took him an hour to break his resolve to stay away. The Guardian watched his mate's house and moved silently through the night as Kelly left. Dressed all in black she moved with the grace of the predator she was. Her face was hidden by a hood and she was alone; Nick had stayed where he was.

Renard followed, keeping his distance, his shields fully in place. It was no guarantee that an old and experienced Grimm like her wouldn't sense him, but if she did she wasn't showing it. Nick hadn't been aware of Renard's true self until the coins had revealed him because they had worn away his shields, and now the psychic bond made sure his mate was very much aware of him. This Grimm was someone and something else. He was being very careful around her.

Sean would have loved nothing more than to be with Nick, talk to the man who meant so much to him, coax the truth about his mother out of him – if she had told her son anything at all. But this was wesen business.

A new Grimm was in his Territory.

It was an affront to everything he was and represented.

After a while Sean found they had come into a more abandoned area, sparsely dotted with houses, a lot more trees to give them both cover, and he knew Kelly had been aware of her shadow.

He smiled coldly. She might not know exactly who was in her wake, but she knew there was a predator close by.

She was good, he had to give her that. Nick was growing into his heritage, his abilities had sharpened, his senses had heightened, but he was still only at the beginning. Renard knew of the younger man's potential and he was carefully cultivating the Grimm. It was already incredible to watch Nick be what he had been born to be, but in a few years he would be a powerful presence that might surpass even Renard.

She stopped, pulling back her hood, and Sean looked into the cold, dark eyes of the woman who was his mate's mother. Staying at a distance, not yet fully revealing himself, he waited. His control was that of a true master, no flicker of what he really was would touch her senses. Even to a Grimm of her age and experience he would appear completely human; it was what he had perfected all his life. For all she knew he might be a mugger looking for an easy game.

"You are the Guardian," she said, voice cold, inflectionless.

Ah, so she knew already. Renard contemplated playing a game, giving nothing away, but it would lead to nothing but more animosity. This was his Grimm's mother; proverbially his mother-in-law.

"And you are a Grimm who has entered my protectorate to hunt," he said evenly.

His voice was just as cold, hard, matter-of-fact.

She smiled humorlessly. "It's what we do."

"You should be aware of the customs."

"I am. I chose to ignore them."

Guts, he had to give that to her. "Unwise," Renard only said.

She chuckled. "What do you want to do now? Send your hexenbiester after me?"

"That would be a waste of time and resources. Who are you hunting?"

"Why would you be interested, Guardian?"

He smiled. "You are old enough to know about my kind. Do you have to ask?"

Her smile was even colder. "You know who I am?"

"Kelly Burkhardt. Presumed dead. I knew your sister.""

She watched him through hard eyes. "Nick told me about what she did."

Well, she was no one to beat around the bush. And she had quickly changed the topic from the hunt to her son and sister.

"It was a deal between Marie Kessler and myself."

"Which you used for your own purposes!" she spat.

"No. What happened after I fulfilled my part of the deal was… unforeseen."

"Really," Kelly said sarcastically. "You forced Nick into a partnership! You took what you always wanted, regnant! You needed a Grimm, you knew he was young and without guidance, and you used him!"

He stepped forward, leaving the shadows, and Kelly tensed. There was suddenly a knife in her hand. Her eyes tracked over him, probably looking for weak spots and cataloging the danger. Renard knew he could take her on and probably incapacitate her without too much damage taken himself. He wasn't planning on it, though.

"Really," he confirmed. "Marie's deal was to protect your son. Everything else was… fortunate."

Her lips curled in disdain. "Very fortunate. You gained in power and standing, didn't you? Mating with a Grimm…"

"It was Nick's choice," Sean added.

"So he told me."

"But you think he would lie?"

"Your kind is manipulative, like all royals. Knowing you can have a Grimm at your side, as your pawn, how could you resist?"

"If you know as much about my kind as I think you do, you know I couldn't force Nick into a partnership."

Kelly shot him a scathing look. "I know what Royals want! A Grimm on their side, to control him, to rule their kingdoms! I heard it often enough. A Grimm on his own is dangerous, isn't that what you are taught?! You used the coins, iyour highness/i." And there was a lot of mocking in those last two words. "You fell for their siren call. What did you see? All your subjects cheering you on? Your perfect kingdom? If Nick hadn't taken them away you would still be looking for their dark powers, right?"

Something inside of him curled and reacted to her proximity, her sharp, truthful words, even more now than before. It hissed softly, spoiling for a fight. He pushed down the primal reaction. This was Nick's mother and a predator as dangerous as his Grimm, simply with a lot more experience and a probably fully developed ability. This was what Nick would be like one day. The difference was that the thought of his mate being this dangerous was a turn-on; Kelly Burkhardt was far from that.

"A Grimm on his own can easily become a lone, vengeful spirit," Renard answered evenly, giving her a pointed look, ignoring the last taunt.

He was past that.

He was balanced by his mate.

He didn't need the coins and never would again. Portland was stable and safe.

Kelly smiled cruelly. "If pushed to that point, yes. My family was hunted, my husband murdered. Now my sister died at your hands!"

"She was already dead, Grimm. She had a few more months at best. The cancer had eaten her up. She knew it; she knew what was at stake. She did what she had to do to protect your son."

"By letting you kill her and take what you wanted?!"

The creature inside him bristled. Yes, he was a powerful man and he had taken what he wanted in the past before, but he couldn't force a bond. No one could, no potion could connect them, and any zaubertrank would wear off one day.

Or the subject died because they were too strong-willed to be controlled.

Renard knew Nick was such a strong person; and his aim had never been to bind him. Having the Grimm in his Territory, watching his development into someone so unlike the horror tales told to young wesen, had been enough.

"Like I said, the deal didn't include a partnership," he rumbled. "I invested a lot into Nick, I protected him, I did what I had to. The outcome couldn't have been foreseen." Renard let a small smile cross his lips, this time almost mocking. "What do your books tell you about my kind? That we weave love spells? That is more of a hexenbiest trait."

"They serve you."

"No spell could bind a Grimm to a regnant. If that was the case, don't you think your kind would have been hunted down in a different way by now?"

She snarled angrily.

"That's what the common knowledge is. How would I know if you aren't an aberration to the norm?"

Sean laughed. "You really think that's the reason and explanation? Your son is a Grimm who is different from every Grimm I've ever known, and I've met and heard about my share. Now he has become my partner, my mate. He has friends and allies in the wesen world, he doesn't kill on sight, he asks questions first and tries never to take a life later. He is what we need here, he is what I need as a partner."

"He allied himself with a blutbad," Kelly growled.

"Wieder-blutbad. And Monroe is the best ally who could have happened to Nick when he first realized who he was. It could have been worse. I protected him, but I couldn't have been there all the time. Monroe did a commendable job, trusted a Grimm, and he kept him alive again and again."

Kelly shook her head, clearly not happy about all of it. Not that she could change anything. Killing Renard would change nothing; it might make matters even worse.

"Grimms aren't the enemies of the wesen world by default," Renard added. "You know the histories. You know where the Grimms came from. You are arbitrators, not executioners. Your kind were guardians once, not judge and jury. Wesen aren't all killers and murderers and predatory by nature."

"He trusts to easily!"

"His instincts aren't wrong, Grimm. They have helped him come to this point, have given him a working network of allies who are proud to have the Grimm here."

"Too much trust will kill him!"

"No."

"Because you will protect him?" Kelly asked mockingly.

"Because he is a Guardian's mate. We have already dealt with the reapers."

"What about the Royal Families?"

"Do you really think my kind associates with them?" he mocked.

"I know you are royalty, too."

"And that makes me what? Their kin? Hardly."

She smiled coldly. "The seven Families aren't really in your favor. Regnants are a sore in their eyes. You keep them out of your Territories. You aren't under their control."

He cocked his head, raising an eyebrow. "Your point being?"

"A mate makes you vulnerable, Guardian. You painted an even bigger target on my son's back!"

Renard snarled softly. "They wouldn't dare touch him."

"To weaken you, to get their hands on this Protectorate… of course, they would."

"What do you know?" he demanded.

She chuckled. "Only heresy. You are powerful, Guardian. Your Protectorate is highly sought after. You come from an old family line, but you are the youngest son. Nick gives you an edge, but the Families want more; they want the coins. Nick is their key to them."

Renard knew it. With a Grimm at his side, with wesen on their side, he was powerful. His older brother Maurice had already told him that being mated to a Grimm made Sean dangerous. Mireille, his sister, had confirmed it. The Royal Families were watching him. He was royalty by birth, too, their equal, but he was mated to a Grimm and he was an established ruling force in Portland, his Territory stable and under control. With a Grimm by his side as his arbitrator Sean Renard was an unchallenged ruler.

"I know who and what I am, Kelly Burkhardt," Renard said evenly. "I know where I stand. I know what to expect, politically as well as personally. This is my Territory to rule. Nick is my mate, mine to protect. He is my trusted partner, the arbitrator in this Protectorate, a Grimm. Don't believe for a moment that your son was coerced or fell into this unprepared and wide-eyed innocent. He is anything but. His alliances run deep and he has the trust and respect of the wesen community."

She snorted.

Renard refused to let the wesen inside him show, despite her provocative nature. "You've come to this town twenty-four hours ago. You know nothing of me, the political situation, or even your own son."

Kelly frowned, fingers flexing around the knife. Renard had no doubt that she was armed to the teeth with more than just this little weapon.

"Just like I know nothing of your true reasons for being here. Eighteen years are a long time and you came here on purpose. You might not tell me why, but I will find out. Accept the situation, Grimm. You can't change anything."

"You think?" she taunted.

"I know," the Guardian said evenly.

"No threats or demands that I leave?"

He smiled. "It's up to you. You're Nick's family and he values that. It's important to him. You know about Marie's deal, about her contract, about what happened. You know where I stand and where the others stand: at Nick's side, protecting him."

"It's not something easily believed."

"Then don't." Renard turned to go.

"You trust me?" she called.

He laughed coldly. "No."

Her smile was just as cold. "Good choice, regnant."

Sean's eyes narrowed, then he disappeared into the shadows, blending in with the night. He moved silently, lithely, through the trees, the streets, his city. He knew every corner of it. It was his.

Kelly wasn't following him.

Still, he took the long way home. He needed to think.

tbc...


	3. Chapter 3

I apologize for typos you might find. My braincell went faster than the speed of light and I typed like a manic person. I think the cooler temperatures are finally firing up the brain again :)

X XX X X X

She had no idea what she had expected when she had stepped back into her son's life. Eighteen years were a long time and Nick had been right when he had accused her of her absence. Yes, Kelly had done it to protect him, but Nick didn't understand, couldn't understand.

Just like she couldn't understand the strange dynamics around Portland's Grimm.

Eighteen years…

Too long. She would have come back if it had been safe, but it hadn't been, still wasn't, but she had heard the many rumors and tales. She had heard about Marie's death. She knew it had triggered her son; finally.

And with it a whole new avalanche of events had been set into motion.

In her wildest dreams Kelly would never have thought of a blutbad helping a Grimm. Trusting him, standing by his side, defending his life… Knowing about the trailer! It was like a betrayal of the worst kind to her! All her family's work, all the knowledge and weapons, all the powerful little things collected, and a blutbad knew about it!

And had kept the secret. Nick had tried to explain to her that Monroe was a history nut, that he knew things about the stuff Nick wouldn't have been able to find out on his own, but she couldn't believe it.

Or that a Grimm was gaining the trust of so many different wesen, dangerous and docile, predator and prey. Kelly had been aware of eyes watching her as she slipped through the streets, of timid wesen living on the same street as her son. Like a neighborhood watch they kept an eye on whatever came close to them, even though some might not even perceive her as a Grimm at first sight. She had seen a maushertz, bravely staying for a few seconds, then darting away, and a hare who had refused to be scared.

Impressive, part of her mused. Another had been shocked. They were loyal to a Grimm! To her son!

Nick had told her about these wesen families, about the friendships. She couldn't really believe half the tales she had picked up as she had come to Portland, but so much had been told again and again, had been retold and never really changed. Nick had a network of allies who were standing by his side, had taught him in her or Marie's place. A jagerbar had taught him politics, a wieder-blutbad about Grimm histories, of all wesen, a fuchsbau about potions and zaubertrank and spells, and eisbiber had close to adopted the local Grimm.

That her son had become the Grimm at a regnant's side had truly shocked her. Of course she knew that the partnership could only be voluntary, that her son hadn't been forced or coerced or threatened, but it sat wrong with her. For no other reason than that it was Nick.

That the regnant was also training her son, together with Monroe, who had started the training sessions, had been like a weird parallel dimension for her. What blutbad in his right mind would teach a Grimm how to use weapons designed to kill his own kind?! It boggled her mind.

Kelly stayed in the shadows, just watching, seeing a lot and taking note of a lot more. Portland was protected, was dangerous but safer than other cities where the power shift had been more pronounced. The Guardian was taking care of matters here and it showed.

Still, it was dangerous for her to be here. It was dangerous for Nick. Her son was protected, but Kelly herself was an intruder and she doubted Renard would lift more than a finger to keep her out of trouble. She was a danger to him and only her relation to his mate kept him from doing something to remove her from Portland.

Moving like a phantom, always alert, on guard, ready to react to a threat, the Grimm disappeared.

X X X X

Despite taking the long way, he had finally come to Nick's home. He had barely walked up the steps to the entrance when Nick flung the door open, looking rattled and very much beside himself.

"Hey," he said, trying a smile that looked watery at best.

"Hey," Sean replied and walked inside.

"You heard, right?"

"It was hard not to. Word is already spreading."

Nick slumped a little. "Adalind?"

"Melia reported her arrival to me first. Adalind confirmed it."

"She's alive," Nick murmured.

Renard regarded the young Grimm, noting in dismay the fine lines of stress around Nick's eyes and mouth.

"She faked her death, Sean. My mother is alive!"

He waited, watching his mate closely as Nick moved aimlessly through his living room.

"Dad… He was killed. But she survived. And she said she stayed dead to keep me alive, to protect me."

Nick was walking restlessly around the place, hands raking through his already tousled hair. Sean let him, aware that the nervous energy had to go somewhere.

"I should have known. Somehow! I mean, I was a late bloomer. She said men come later into their heritage as Grimms, but I was almost thirty! And it happened just as Aunt Marie came back, dying! Dad was a Grimm! Mom, too! I should have been one a lot earlier, right? Two sides had the genes. And mom's family for generations! But I didn't!"

Renard was silent. He had briefly wondered why the Grimm had triggered so late, but he hadn't investigated into that peculiarity. Maybe he should have.

"She doesn't approve of me," the young Grimm whispered, abruptly changing the topic. "Of what I did already, of how I handled matters. She only sees the wesen, not the person. She would have killed Monroe and Rosalee! Just like that!"

"She's a Grimm," Renard said calmly.

"So am I!" he yelled. "And I didn't shoot Monroe at first sight! I didn't bring down the others for being different! How can she be like that? How can she be a cold-blooded murderer?!"

"Her life was different from yours."

Gray eyes glared at him with a power that spoke of the very Grimm coming forth, the predator lashing out and itching for a fight.

"Nothing gives her the right to just kill!"

"To protect you? To protect herself? Nick, she has no idea what's going on here, who is who, who to trust. She saw a blutbad and reacted accordingly."

Nick snorted.

Sean approached, careful, tense, aware that the Grimm was still highly volatile. Nick was thrumming with anger, but when the powerful Guardian touched him, there was no averse reaction. Just a deep sigh. He drew him close, brushing his lips over Nick's temple as he was prone to do.

"I guess she talked to you, too?" the Grimm asked, sounding weary.

"Yes. It reminded me of Maurice."

That got him a confused look. Renard smiled.

"Risk assessment. She doesn't trust me, my motives, anything. She thinks our partnership is one abused by me, of me controlling you, of using you as a pawn."

Nick tensed again. Sean refused to let go.

"You and I know it wouldn't work, and your mother knows about Guardians, about what a regnant is and can and can't do in regard of their mate."

"But she still thinks I'm nothing but a weak-willed pawn," Nick growled.

"No. She's protecting you, as she has done all her life."

"She hasn't been in my life for eighteen years! What gives her the right now? I managed just fine without her!"

"Your mother had her reasons."

Gray eyes flared with anger, close to fury. There was so much more to this slender man. A lot more. Some of it now showed now and then. "Sure! To find the people who killed my father and the woman who had been in her place in the car! For eighteen years!"

Sean cocked his head a little. "What did she tell you?"

Nick blew out a breath, shaking his head. His eyes were suspiciously bright, overflowing with emotions from all over the spectrum.

"She said she had been targeted as the keeper of the coins back then. She and Dad. She thought she could lead her pursuers away, but they still went after my father."

"Who, Nick?"

"The Verrat. Reapers. And the Royal Families." Now those turmoiled eyes were on him, sparking with a fire that was pure Grimm. "Like you?"

Renard met the angry gaze evenly, keeping himself calm and under tight control. If he let the primal side rise to the bait things would escalate.

"I'm a regnant, Nick. My family is royal by definition, because of what wesen we are. We hold high places, have positions of power, but regnants don't associate with the Families. We don't have allies among them, only enemies. We choose a Protectorate and stay there, they want a country, a continent, or more. The Families are dangerous, secluded. We guard, they rule."

"So they killed my parents because of those damned coins?"

"They control the reapers. They want the Grimms gone. The Families have been involved in numerous wars over the centuries, always looking out for number one. Look through the history books and whenever there was a horrific event, they were involved. There was a time when your kind worked with the Families, but they were unable to keep you under control."

"Unlike regnants?" Nick spat, the Grimm spoiling for a fight.

Sean smiled slightly, still not reacting to the taunts. "You really think I could ever control you, Grimm? You know that even with the coins in my hands I was unable to make you fall for me, accept me as your mate. I wanted you safe; I promised your aunt to protect you. I fulfilled my part of the contract."

Nick's fury was almost tangible now, fueled by what had happened between him and his mother. This had nothing to do with the past between them, Renard knew. They had cleared the air already, explanations had been given and accepted. The Grimm was now fully involved in the Protectorate's political business and Sean was truthful when it came to matters concerning him and his Grimm.

"I never thought it would become more, that you would accept me as your partner without such powerful tools as the Coins of Zakynthos. You know what this partnership means, how it works, that what I gained pales when compared to what you have gotten out of it. You control me, Nick Burkhardt, you have the power over a Guardian. I would protect you with my life, even against your mother."

His mate refused to look at him and Renard waited. Nick knew all this. They had talked about it, all cards had been on the table, and there was nothing Sean had obfuscated or lied about. Nick was the more powerful in their relationship, was the one in control. Sean Renard might be politically savvy and highly placed, had been born as a wesen that ruled by their name alone, commanded powers and dangerous, reclusive creatures that would strike out and kill at his word, but Nick Burkhardt held him in his hands.

He had never been as vulnerable as when he had been around Nick. From the moment he had formed the first, tentative bonds with the then unaware Grimm had Renard known that this could be his downfall. He could either come out stronger than ever before or perish. A Grimm meant balance, a Grimm was perfection, and finding the right one was a needle in a haystack game. He had been lucky to find Nick, who had accepted the bond. That he had also accepted the more intimate relationship between them was nothing Sean Renard would ever have dared to dream of.

And Sean would never fight him. All his power shriveled up and withered away when he faced his chosen mate and bonded partner. Nick had yet to come into his full heritage, but he was already an incredibly strong person. The regnant bowed to that power, fed on it, had grown because of it. Their connection was interwoven, not simply a strand or two. It was a connection between their souls, one that hadn't required the sexual component. That had been… unbelievable, wonderful, more than perfect.

In his family tree only two regnants had ever psychically bonded with a Grimm, though there had never been a closer relationship. Both had ruled long and without challenge. And his family tree was long and widely branched. Now Renard was one of those few, not even a handful at all, and he was the first to take a Grimm mate completely.

Finally Nick's shoulders slumped.

"I dreamed of this for years, Sean. I wished the accident was just a nightmare, that my mom was still alive, that she was just somewhere… else. It was childish and I knew it, because my parents were both dead, and now…"

"Now she is alive," Renard stated calmly.

"And she's not who I remember. She's colder, brutal, ready to kill any wesen that crosses her path, and that's not what I do. It's not who I want to be or who I want my mother to be! Aunt Marie was a feared Grimm, the night terror personified! I'm not that!"

"You're not," Renard agreed.

"But maybe I have to be if she tells the truth! If the Families hunt Grimms, if more reapers come… They know I had the coins in my possession!"

"They wouldn't dare to cross me again, Nick. They did before and you paid your own respects." Sean smiled darkly. "So did I. They know what to expect. Portland is mine and so are you."

Something passed between them, from powerful predator to powerful predator. Nick was still furious, but the emotion came from a different place. Renard was simply the only target he had right now. The regnant was ready to take the abuse as long as it meant Nick was calming down.

"The way she looked at me I feel like I'm disappointing her," his Grimm whispered, sounding almost broken. "She was ten, Sean! Ten when her powers came through! She and Aunt Marie… and they went on hunts when they were eighteen." He swallowed. "She said it was what they had to do. It feels wrong to me, though. So very wrong… To just kill… I mean, I'm a cop, sure. But I became a cop because of my heritage, that's what Aunt Marie suggested at least. She said I had the inclination to protect. And that's what Grimms are. Not killers. Not executioners!"

Renard had to suppress a proud smile at the words, but he couldn't stop experiencing the surge of warmth. This was his Grimm.

"The past years were hard for her, Nick. You didn't know she was alive, but she knew what she had had to do, that she left you behind. She protected you against enemies you weren't aware of. She had to become hard and cold to survive."

It got him a slow nod, but the conflicting emotions were still raging on.

"She's looking for the coins," his Grimm murmured.

Renard tensed. "Why?" And for whom? Herself? She was hardly able to use them; they didn't influence Grimms like that. Or was she working for someone else?

"To get them back to the forge that created them, to melt them down for good. I think that was the plan eighteen years ago. Only there they can be destroyed."

"I know."

The gray eyes narrowed dangerously. Renard held up calming hands.

"You hid them, right?"

"Yes."

"But she will take them back to the forge?"

Nick nodded. "Two she can get to, the third might be forever unreachable."

The Guardian felt a growl rumble through his chest. He was drawn between anger that the other Grimm was getting to the coins and the hope that the cursed coins would finally be gone.

But if this information leaked, Kelly Burkhardt might never reach that forge and do the whole world a favor by melting down the coins. And could he really trust her to do what she offered?

Renard didn't share his thoughts; Nick was probably very much aware of that.

"Nick."

The younger man looked at him. Sean leaned closer, still cautious in case the Grimm side lashed out, but Nick was gaining control. He caressed the stubble on the normally smooth-shaven cheek. Nick leaned into the caress.

"She's still your mother. She's still the person who you knew. She came back expecting something she didn't find. Your mother needs to get used to a lot of things."

"Like you?"

The Guardian chuckled. "Like me," he agreed. "And your eisbiber fanclub. And Monroe and Rosalee and Frank and Roddy. You have so many who stand by you, who have your back in their own way. You belong here, with me, in this city. You have a place and you have a job, as a Grimm. Kelly Burkhardt was always on her own, unable to trust. She is the old Grimm line."

"But not who we were and are supposed to be."

"No."

"She won't be able to change."

"Probably not."

"And two Grimms in your territory…?"

"You are my Grimm, Nick. Only you. She is… tolerated at the moment."

He shook his head. It was clear that that hadn't been what Nick had wanted to hear, but in a way he also accepted the words. For now.

"I won't touch her – unless she gives me a reason."

"By killing a wesen?"

"By crossing a line I cannot tolerate."

Nick gazed into his eyes, reading more than Sean was probably aware of, then he nodded.

There was a sudden shift in his mate's behavior and Renard had a second to understand that the next move wasn't an attack, then he was assaulted by a demanding mouth and hands that tugged at his shirt.

"Nick…"

The gray eyes shot him a challenging look and the primal side in Renard reacted. He knew where this was coming from, knew it was an act of desperation and confirmation in one. He wanted to feel his mate, too. He wanted to taste him, touch him, listen to his every sound, and he wanted to claim the very soul of this man.

"Nick."

Who belonged to him.

"My Grimm," he added with a sliver of singular possessive need.

Whom he belonged to in return.

He leaned down and kissed him, feeling Nick respond, let him tug out the shirt, let him work on his pants.

"Mine," the younger man whispered harshly.

Sex wouldn't solve anything, but it was a way to balance the emotions spiking all over the place. Nick was going through highs and lows, and if pleasurable physical exertion helped, Renard wouldn't say no. If this was what his Grimm needed, so be it.

This was for them.

For now he pushed all other thoughts away, concentrated only on his Grimm, and let his more basic nature claim his conscious thoughts.

tbc...


	4. Chapter 4

The street was almost abandoned at this time of the day. Kelly stood across the street, eyes on the shop that was open, but had actually little customer traffic. The front was mostly wood, the small windows milky. They let no one look inside. Light came through the glass front higher up. The light brown wood was in harmony with the blue boards decorating the entrance, which was set back a little. Elaborate writing proclaimed this was an Exotic Tea and Spice Shop.

Kelly walked inside, the bell softly announcing her presence. The warm air inside wasn't just physical warmth. It was age. Old shelves, an ancient register, drying herbs hanging from the ceiling, a ladder leaning against the shelves that were filled with boxes and glass containers that showed exotic contents, books between them. The light came from old bulbs that gave everything a soft edge, taking the harshness and transforming it into a coziness never found in the more modern stores.

She sensed the wesen almost immediately and by the reaction of the woman, she knew exactly who Kelly was. Eyes widened and her face shifted.

Fuchsbau.

"No," the woman breathed and stumbled back. "What…" She straightened a little all of a sudden and squared her shoulders, her instinctive reaction making way for bravery. "How can I help you?"

Ah, one with a backbone. Kelly was intrigued. The fuchsbau knew exactly who she was facing and still she wasn't trying to run or begging for her life. Fuchsbau were rarely on a Grimm's radar. They were cunning tradesmen and you better counted your money and every other possession after making a deal with them, but they hardly bothered humans.

"Where is the blutbad?" she asked.

"What?" The fuchsbau's face was by human again, her façade firmly in place. "What blutbad?"

"You heard me. I know he comes here. I know you two have been seen together. Where is he?"

"I don't know what you're talking about!"

Kelly moved fast, fingers already curling around a knife that had been hidden in her sleeve. The fuchsbau gave a cry of alarm and made a run for it, but a Grimm trained for decades wasn't easily fooled. She grabbed the woman and threw her against the wall, holding the knife to the vulnerable throat.

"Where is he?" Kelly repeated calmly.

"I don't know!" she cried, terror in her expression. "I really don't!"

"But you know where he lives."

"No!"

"Lie." It was delivered softly, evenly. "I'm not interested in you, only him. Fuchsbau don't protect blutbaden. So, where is he?"

There was a sudden shift in the air, a little tingle along her spine, and the Grimm knew before she heard the roar of outrage. She let go of the fuchsbau and ducked, rolled around, bringing up the knife, just about missing the blutbad coming at her.

Kelly's foot shot up, hit the wesen in the pit of his stomach and he fell back with a wheeze. She followed that up with another blow and he crashed to the ground. She was on him like lightning and red eyes stared at her in naked fear, his clawed hands making a weak, warding off gesture.

Pathetic.

But strangely enough a confirmation that he was a wieder, not your run-of-the-mill predator.

"You are him," she said softly, knife ready, one hand around his throat.

"I'm not!" he protested. "Whatever you think I'm involved in, I'm not that kind of blutbad! No maiming or killing and no little girls in red! I swear on my grandmother's grave!"

"You're involved with my son."

The wolf features dropped and the human façade stared at her in shock. "What?! No! No, I'm not! I'm not involved with anyone's son. Or daughter. Really! I'm straight. On the straight and narrow. Really straight and very, very narrow!"

She slipped the knife into the sleeve and got up in one fluid motion. He blinked and slowly got to his feet.

"You work with my son," Kelly said after a long second of silently contemplating the taller blutbad. "His name is Nick Burkhardt."

Now he gaped. "Nick? You're Nick's mother?! But… you're… aren't you supposed to be not so alive?!"

She felt almost amused by him. "He said he trusts you."

"Uh, yeah."

The fuchsbau had by now joined the other wesen, looking like she would face down whatever came next. She even placed herself a little in front of the more dangerous blutbad. Yes, she had a backbone.

"And we trust him," she stated bravely. "He's our friend. He helped catch the killers of my brother. And I help him when he needs things."

"As do I," the blutbad added. "He's a really good friend. Really. No ill intent. I swear. I mean, he's a Grimm and it took some getting used to, and, man, he was weird for a Grimm, not that I've met many…uh… right… well, it was a rocky start…" he murmured. "Uhm, I'm Monroe, by the way."

"Rosalee," the fuchsbau added politely.

"Nick told me your names."

"Right!" Monroe said, nodding. "So, uh."

"You came here to threaten us?" Rosalee asked.

Kelly didn't answer, just looked at them in a carefully calculating way. They were a mismatched, unlikely couple. He was scruffy looking, wearing a handknit sweater, pants that were a bit too wide, and a jacket that would fit a much bigger man. The fuchsbau, while not ultra stylish, looked a lot more modern, though also wearing a knit cardigan over a black shirt and older blue jeans.

These were two of her son's trusted allies. A fuchsbau was a gamble already, but trusting a blutbad…?

"I came here to understand," she finally answered.

"Yeah, well, I don't understand him either," Monroe said immediately, then his eyes widened as his brain caught up with his brain. "I mean, I know it's weird. And more weird for you, right? As his not-dead mom. Which is weird all by itself. But he… grows on you. And he's a good guy."

A good guy. A good Grimm. Someone wesen trusted and helped.

Kelly just turned and walked out the shop, thoughts whirling more than before.

X X X

Monroe blinked as the Grimm disappeared like a ghost. One moment she was there, the next she was… out the door without another word. Inside him, something uncurled from the tight knot of tension and fear, and he felt a tremor run through him.

"His mother?" Rosalee startled him. "This was really Nick's mother? He said she's dead."

"I know," Monroe replied, fighting back what he thought was a major bout of PTSD. "And she scared the crap out of me!"

"Me, too," she whispered and slid closer, seeking comfort.

Monroe pulled her into a brief hug. Then he abruptly released her, looking startled by his forwardness and the closeness to the fuchsbau. He gave a brief, helpless smile, then dug out his cell phone.

"You think I should call him?"

"And tell him his not-so-dead-really scary-mother threatened us?"

"Well, not in those words, but… You think she's the real thing? Really? His mother?"

"Is she a Grimm? Definitely!" Rosalee told him firmly. "Those vibes? Uncanny! Grimms have relations, so maybe she is his mother, or someone else from his family."

"Yeah, well, she is that. No doubt about it. The knife was a dead giveaway. She the vibes are creepy. But about the mother stuff? She's dead, right? He said his parents were killed in a car crash!"

"Apparently someone lied."

Monroe stared at her, then shook his head. "No! No, he wouldn't lie about that. I mean, you had to look at him when he told you and you simply knew it was what he believed…" He trailed off. "Man, what he believed! Right! He thought she was dead and she wasn't."

"If she is his mother," Rosalee pointed out.

Monroe started to hit the speed dial. "Gonna find out about that," he muttered.

X X XX XX X X

The light of the sun was slanting through the window, creating warm patterns on the worn wooden table and the tiled floor. The smell of coffee hung in the air, the windows were partially open.

Sean looked at the man stretched out beside him on their shared bed. Nick was still asleep, completely nude, and lying on his stomach. It gave him a good view of the claim mark, which he had renewed without a second thought. The blanket was riding low on Nick's narrow hips, revealing just enough to tease but not enough to call it indecent yet. Sean smiled at the memories of last night.

Nick was no submissive. He was strong-willed, he knew what he wanted, he was demanding, he could take charge, and Sean had found himself giving in now and then. Last night Nick had surrendered to him completely, had arched into his touch. It had been a night of tenderness, mixed with a passion that had left them both breathless and shaken.

Like a reaffirmation of life, he mused. Sometimes he needed that. Especially after Kelly Burkhardt's resurfacing. It had rattled him just as badly as Nick and the younger Grimm had questioned Renard's truthfulness.

No, he hadn't known about it. And yes, he would have told Nick if he had. They had an agreement and where Nick was learning about politics from Frank Rabe and sometimes even from Monroe, some things only the man mated to him could answer.

But Sean hadn't known.

Knowing he had a mother-in-law who was a powerful and feared Grimm wasn't as heart-warming as one might think. If not for the fact that killing a Guardian would bring down Kelly as well, probably kill Nick in turn, Renard might be on her hit list by now.

So last night had been... hot, to put it into one word. He had watched Nick in the throes of climax, arching into him, crying out his name as he came. Sean had held onto him, echoing the cry with a groan of his own, both men linked together in more than this physical way. It had been a meshing of power, of strength, of perfection.

Leaning down now, Sean nipped at his lover's skin, kissing the mark he had left there last night. There was a little murmur from Nick and he turned, sleepy eyes blinking open, and a smile stretched his lips.

"Morning," he murmured.

"Good morning," Sean replied, caressing the smooth, warm back.

"You awake long?" Nick wanted to know, smothering a yawn.

He looked delicious and warm and relaxed. The darkness of the night before had evaporated, though it hadn't disappeared completely. Right now Sean enjoyed the more mellow version of his Grimm, the intensity hidden under the guise of sleepiness.

"A little."

He usually woke before Nick.

"An hour?" Nick teased. "Two?"

"Barely thirty minutes," he replied, bending down to capture the Grimm's lips.

Nick rolled onto his back, wrapped his arms around Sean's neck, and raked his fingers through the short hair.

"What did you do all that time?" came the amused question.

"Watching you."

"Uh-huh. How interesting."

"Yes, it is." Sean looked into the clear gray eyes, saw the amusement and happiness reflected in them, and warmth curled through him.

Nick was filled with so much life, with such optimism and positive energy, it astounded others. He had broken through Sean's defenses and it had left the other breathless.

"I love you," Renard whispered, words he rarely if ever really used..

Nick smiled. Happy, warm, completely open.

iI need you/i, Sean thought. iAnd you're mine. You belong to me alone./i

He had no idea whether it passed along the bond, but the general notion probably did. He could see it in Nick's eyes.

He wouldn't give him up; for anything. Even if Kelly stayed, even if she tried to separate them. Nothing could cut the bond.

"Love you, too," Nick answered.

The Grimm let his fingers play over Renard's skin. It was soothing, a wonderful caress, and he felt himself relax even more. Sean nuzzled the soft skin at Nick's neck and his mate hummed in pleasure. Nick turned his head and their lips bumped into each other.

The resulting kiss was nearly enough to let the Guardian forget about anything but his mate. He finally drew back, grinning at the breathless look in the gray eyes.

It still took them another five minutes to finally leave the bed and Sean wondered if they could make it out of the bathroom on time.

X

As it was, they did make it out of the bathroom in a rather decent time, though Nick had proven to be a tease all the way around. It had reached a moment where Sean had been hard pressed not to just take the invitation and forget whatever they had had planned. Still, he congratulated himself on his self-control.

X

When the phone rang Nick just glanced at the display, brows rising when he saw it was Monroe's name.

"Burkhardt," he answered it.

Renard stopped from where he was tying the knot of his tie, brows lowering in a little frown.

Nick listened for a second, then a "She did what?!" exploded out of him. "Yes, yes, she is and no, it's difficult to explain and I really didn't know, Monroe, honest. I… she threatened Rosalee and asked for you?!"

He pinched the bridge of his nose and Renard was suddenly right there beside him, the vibes coming off him strong enough to reverberate inside Nick's head. Even without the psychic bond he would have sensed it.

"Shit," the Grimm breathed. "Damnit! Why?!"

He listened, his face taking on an expression of disbelief.

"Yes. Thanks, Monroe. I'm really sorry. Really. I didn't know…" A small smile flitted over his features. "Yeah. Thanks. Tell Rosalee I owe her an apology. I owe you both more. I'll make it up. I promise."

When he hung up and turned, the gray eyes reflecting his turmoil, Sean was right there.

"What happened?" the Guardian asked calmly.

"My mother happened. She found Rosalee's shop somehow. I never gave her the address. She threatened her with a knife, demanded to know where Monroe was, and when he defended Rosalee she threatened him as well. Just to get to know them." He raked a hand through his hair. "I wish I knew why. Or what's going on with her!"

"She's testing the waters, Nick."

"By attacking my friends?!"

"The Grimm way of testing the waters."

He glared at his partner. "This isn't testing the waters, Sean! This is harassment and threats and instilling fear and terror because she can!"

"The Grimm way."

"Stop saying it like that! It's not the Grimm way I see it!"

"Nick," Renard said soothingly. "Go and talk to your friends, make sure they are alright. And if you still need a way to work through your anger, let me know. I think we can arrange a training session of a different kind."

Nick grinned. "I might just take you up on that offer."

And then he was out the door and heading for the car. Renard smoothed his tie and smiled to himself.

tbc...


	5. Chapter 5

The last time Nick had seen Monroe that intense and wolfish had been when they had met the second time, in Monroe's house, after Nick had arrested him for kidnapping a missing child. Back then Monroe had just jumped through a window and knocked the fledgling Grimm to the ground, scaring the hell out of him – and inviting him for a beer.

Now the blutbad's hackles were literally up. There was a faint sheen of red in his eyes, which was an indicator of his emotional state.

"She's your mother!" Monroe was gesturing, agitation in each move.

"Yes."

"But she's supposed to be dead! You said she's dead!"

Nick sighed and raked a hand through his hair. "I thought so, too. Until a day ago I believed it. The police came to our house, told me my parents had died horrifically in a car crash, that their bodies were burned beyond recognition."

"But she isn't dead," Monroe stated, stopping his pacing.

"No."

"Obviously. Because, dude, she just about cut my throat!"

Nick winced. "And I'm really sorry. I didn't know she would… well… go after you and Rosalee. Man, I'm so sorry!"

Monroe regarded him, face shifting between fear and confusion. "Not your fault," he said after a moment. "I mean, dude, she's a Grimm. Of course I'm naturally the bad guy."

"I told her you're a wieder! I told her you help me on cases."

"Don't forget to mention that without me you'd be six feet under already," the blutbad muttered.

Nick smiled. "Yeah. I know."

It drew a grin out of Monroe. "I wouldn't mention me jumping you in the woods, though."

The Grimm chuckled. "Nope."

"And saying it that way does sound kind of… wrong." Monroe grimaced. "But I do help. And I'm reformed."

"Yes, you are. You and Rosalee and Frank and Bud… you all helped me one way or the other. She can't understand it. It's… not what she's used to."

"And she's really your mom?"

Nick sighed and played with his coffee. He would have loved a beer, but it was way too early in the day. He had bypassed the station, had called Hank claiming he was talking to someone concerning their latest case, and Sean was covering for him.

"Yes. I was twelve. I remember her face. It's her; just older. And scarred."

Monroe refilled his mug and offered Nick one, too. The Grimm accepted gratefully.

"She gonna stay?"

"I don't know. But I doubt it. She came because of the coins of Zakynthos."

Monroe's brows rose abruptly. "Why? How does she know?"

"Word travels fast. A lot of people knew they were in Portland. More came to find them. You know how powerful they are."

"But you got rid of them, right?"

Nick nodded. "You can't destroy them, just… make them almost inaccessible. Mom… she said there is way to melt them down. It has to be the forge they were created in."

"Huh. And she came here to what? Tell you that?"

"She came here looking for them, to take them there. She was the original guardian of the keys and it was why my dad and their friend were killed."

"The friend who was mistaken for her? How's that possible? Didn't they have dentals, man?"

Nick briefly closed his eyes. "She mentioned that they bodies were badly burned. And…" He hesitated, then looked up, feeling slightly sick. "… and the wesen who killed them thought they had killed a Grimm. They took her head."

"Aw, dude, that's sick!" Monroe groaned. "But then again, my grandfather's head ended up on a stick when a Grimm got to him and…" He broke off and cleared his throat when Nick raised his eyebrows. "Not the topic. Right. Grimm stuff. Gruesome and all. So they took the head of the supposed Grimm? And no one noticed it was missing? Wasn't it in the report?"

"It wasn't in the newspaper covering. It wasn't in the coroner's report either," Nick said, voice even.

Monroe's brows rose again, realization in his eyes. "So… someone covered for the hunters?"

"Yeah. Someone edited a few details. Who knows if the report was even a real one. I'd have to dig a little, find out the name of the coroner, check his background, run a few things."

"Maybe you shouldn't, Nick. I mean, dude, it's been how long? Eighteen years? This was an assassination, set in motion by someone very powerful, and he had ties. I wouldn't dig around in that snake pit. You got enough trouble as is."

Nick smiled darkly. "You don't say. And while I agree, it's something I might have to look into anyway. They were after the coins and killed the keeper at the time. But the coins got lost again and disappeared until they resurfaced here."

"You could ask your friend the steinadler."

"I doubt I'd get an answer. We didn't part on very good terms. I also have no idea where he is."

Monroe nodded. "So… now what? Mom's back."

"Until she digs up the coins where I hid them."

"And then?"

Nick evaded the so knowing eyes. "She'll leave again."

"Just like that?" the blutbad exclaimed. "Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't mind. And it's nothing personal. Well, with you. It's a lot personal with her, attacking Rosalee and me. But doesn't she want to catch up? Maybe catch you up on Grimm stuff?"

Nick shot up abruptly from the couch and paced a little, shaking his head. "She's not going to stay. Staying means danger. To her and to me and to everyone around us. Word's spreading about a second Grimm in Portland and Sean will have his hands full if someone thinks he can get a head."

"You're protected as a Guardian's mate, she isn't," Monroe realized.

"Yeah. And Sean made it clear he won't put her under his protection either."

"Would have been a big shock if he did." At Nick's expression Monroe added, "Dude, he's a regnant! Her being here sets my teeth on edge. Think of what it does to someone who claimed the city as his territory. The only reason she's still around is because of your!"

Nick plopped back down on the couch again, burying his head in his hands, strong fingers massaging his scalp.

"What a mess," he groaned.

"Yeah, you can say that again. Not the kind of family reunion you envisioned."

"I never dared to envision this. I fantasized about what might have been if my parent's hadn't been killed. I wished they were still alive. Now one of them is and it's… far from ideal."

Monroe sat down beside him, compassion in his face. "No family is ideal. Mine's far from it, too. You really don't want to know details." He shuddered. "Okay, so there's no Grimm, but the rest… nope, not ideal at all."

Nick gave him a tiny smile.

"Uh, dude, how many of your allies did you mention by name?" Monroe suddenly asked.

The Grimm frowned, then his face fell. "You think she's going to pay all of them a visit?"

"Well, I'd think for sure a blutbad is the worst she could think of, aside from a regnant. And you said she already met him. I doubt she'd make a fuss over the maushertz or reinigen or eisbiber."

"But a lausenschlange and a jagerbar would feature as dangerous," Nick finished, expression aghast.

"You got her number? Can you call her off?" Monroe asked hopefully.

It got him a grimace. "One: no. Two: you think she would just say 'yes, dear' and leave?"

"Uh, no. Stupid question."

"I'm going to call Frank." Nick got up and dug out his phone. "And Victoria." He punched the keys and was already heading for the door.

Monroe just waved him off when he turned around. "Go. Make sure they're warned and if she was already there that they're all right."

"Thanks. I owe you."

The blutbad rolled his eyes. "What else is new? I'll email you my wish list for Christmas."

Nick grinned. "I'll get you a fruit basket."

"You iare/i a fruit basket, Burkhardt. Now go."

And Nick was out the door, heading for his car.

X X XX X X X XX

The residence of Frank Rabe, lawyer and jagerbar, appeared silent and peaceful. The lawn was undisturbed, the mansion's windows and door unbroken. Nick had no sense of something amiss. The problem simply was that he hadn't been able to reach Frank so far. His cell jumped to his mail box service and there had been no returned call.

He was worried.

Nick walked up the door and rang, ready for just about anything.

It was Barry who opened. Dressed in jeans and fashionably washed-out t-shirt with a colorful print, he looked not like a Grimm had just stormed into his home and threatened his father. The young jagerbar frowned when he discovered who the visitor was.

"Hey, Barry. Is Frank home?"

"Uh, no. He's in court today."

Court. Right. The reason for no returned calls. Frank had probably switched off the phone.

"What's going on?" Barry asked.

"I hope nothing, but if you get a whiff of something, anything, don't… do anything stupid."

The young jagerbar looked suspicious and confused in one.

"What happened? Is it about dad?"

"No. It's a situation concerning me and…"

Barry's eyes suddenly shifted to something behind Nick, off his left shoulder, and he stepped back, baring teeth and briefly dropping his façade. The bear-like features appeared and the wide-eyed fear was hard to miss.

Nick whirled around, gun drawn, scanning for anything; anything at all that might attack them. He had moved himself in front of the teenager in a protective manner, making sure that whatever came at Barry would have to go through him first.

"Another one?" Barry breathed, fear clearly swinging in his voice. "There is another Grimm?! Why is there another one here?"

"Stay behind me," Nick said softly.

He found no trace of his mother, but Barry's reaction had been proof enough.

Nothing moved.

Nick knew she had been here, like a sixth sense alerting him that she had been around, but now…?

"The feeling's gone," Barry said, still not sounding like his normally so confident self. All his teenage bravery had gone out the window fast in the face of another Grimm on the grounds.

"Get into the car," Nick ordered, voice hard, gun still out.

"But…"

"In. The. Car."

The young wesen cowed in the face of a full-fledged Grimm. Gray eyes, hard as granite, broke through the fake bravery and Barry pulled the door shut behind him. Nick covered him as he quickly went to the car and only when the jagerbar was inside did the Grimm put away the gun.

He put the car in gear and quickly drove away, tense and silently seething at his mother's audacity. First Rosaleee and Monroe, now the Rabes. Barry sat beside him, still too pale, tense, looking afraid.

"There is another one?" he finally asked, sounding too timid for a wesen of his character.

"Yes," Nick answered shortly.

"Hunting us?" Now there was real fear.

"No. Not you specifically."

"But my dad."

"Yes and no. This Grimm knows of your connection to me, that we aren't enemies." Nick shot his passenger a quick look. "That I consider your father a friend and ally." He smiled a little. "You are part of something that's unique. It drew attention."

"You are a regnant's mate."

Nick nodded.

"My dad told me about what that means."

Nick drove toward the courthouse, just about keeping within the speed limit. "The situation is a bit complicated."

Barry shot him a look. "More than is normal for you?"

Nick chuckled, glad the teenager was coming out of his state of fear. "If you put it like that, no. No more complicated than usual. It's just something I didn't foresee and I didn't think the other Grimm would be coming for anyone associated with me."

"He was somewhere else already?"

"Yes. Monroe and Rosalee."

"Oh. They're okay?" It was true worry now.

For all his blustering and pretense, Barry Rabe had slowly warmed to the Grimm's presence around the house, with his father, or generally in Portland. Nick had saved his life in more ways than one and while gratitude would have looked different to many, the way the jagerbar was carefully and slowly accepting Nick was enough for the Grimm.

"Yes, they're okay. This other Grimm isn't out to kill any of you. It's more like a recon mission."

"Then why are you nearly breaking all traffic laws to find my dad?"

"Because this is kicking up more dust than necessary and because it's scaring my friends."

tbc...


	6. Chapter 6

Nick parked across the street and didn't even try to make Barry stay. He was a lot safer with Nick instead of in the car.

He had to flash his badge to get past the security area, though he had to leave his gun. He had to ask around to find where Frank was and he slid into the court room, Barry in tow, silently taking a place in the back row. The session was almost over and within ten minutes the whole thing was adjourned.

Frank wouldn't be a wesen if he hadn't already felt Nick's presence, especially since Nick hadn't made a secret out of his arrival. He was in full Grimm mode and the skalengeck who had been waiting for his trial had almost freaked out when he had briskly walked past him. The bauerschwein carrying a stack of court files had nearly dropped them, staring at Nick in naked fear.

And Nick didn't really have to ask if his mother had been here. He could see it in the other man's eyes. Something had happened.

Frank gestured at them to follow him into an empty visitor room, closing the door behind him. He turned to his son, clasping his shoulders.

"Are you okay?" he asked intently.

"Fine," was the answer, but it missed the normal, dismissive air. Barry was still shaken.

"Frank? What happened?" Nick asked.

The older man seemed to straighten a little more, reacting to the command issued by the Grimm. Anger and the readiness to defend his friends thrummed through Nick.

"I'm not sure. I simply felt something throughout court. It was a surge. Like… you."

"A Grimm," Nick murmured.

"Yes."

"Did you see anyone?"

"No. I just felt it. Like a brief, harsh warning. The Grimm had to have been in the court room, but I saw no one."

Nick muttered a curse.

"Nick?" Frank asked.

"There's another Grimm in town," Barry blurted. "Nick came to our house because he couldn't reach you, and the other Grimm was there, too!"

Frank's eyes widened and it was simply his superior control that he didn't shift just a little bit right now.

"Are you alright?" he asked his son. "Did he hurt you?"

"No! No, I'm fine. I never saw anyone. I just felt him. And Nick, uhm, covered me." Barry looked uncomfortable confessing that their Grimm had protected him.

"Nick?" Frank demanded sharply.

Nick met the irate eyes calmly, aware that if Frank didn't have such a superior control over his more primal side, he would be looking into a bear face right now. But even back when they had met the first time, Frank had never shifted until that one moment when he had scented the torn clothes and followed his son and his friends to where they had nearly killed two humans.

"Are you done here?" he asked, not answering the unspoken question. "In court?"

"Yes, but…"

"I'll explain later," he said, voice hard, words harsher than he intended. "Not here, not now. I want you two safe."

"And where would that be?"

"Sean's place."

Frank stared at him and Barry gaped. "The regnant's home?" the lawyer blurted.

"It's the safest place I can think of. I promise this will be over by tonight. Just… do me the favor. I need to know no one can get to you."

Frank regarded him curiously. "You know the Grimm?"

"Yes."

"And he knows about us?"

"Yes."

"He already went after Monroe and Rosalee," Barry said quickly.

Frank frowned.

"She's not out to kill you, Frank. It's… a risk assessment."

"She?!"

Nick sighed. "Let's… go over to the temporary safe house. I'll tell you everything there."

Frank's frown was still in place, but he nodded.

X

They took Nick's car, leaving the Rabe's in the courthouse parking lot. Nick had retrieved his gun from security and was covering the two men as best as possible without actually pulling his weapon. All senses were on high alert and he had never been this aware of his surroundings, aside from wesen-related hunts. He might not sense another Grimm, but the two jagerbars could. If Frank so much as twitched Nick would react.

Nothing happened.

X

He called Victoria Snyder on the way, told her to keep a low profile and to call him immediately should she sense a Grimm or think she was being stalked or followed.

She didn't ask questions. She simply agreed to do as Nick wanted. She had an Open House out of town and would probably spend the night with a friend in the neighborhood.

Nick agreed it was the best plan. He would explain later.

X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X

Nick had left Frank and Barry at Sean's place. It was a high end apartment with very good security. He had called his mate and told him about his decision. Renard had sounded very composed, hadn't even questioned Nick's audacity to declare a regnant's home a safe house for other wesen. Rosalee had declined, told Nick that she was perfectly all right in her shop and Monroe had added that he was staying with the fuchsbau.

He had checked in with Roddy and Drew, breathing a sigh of relief that both young men were all right. Roddy had asked what was going on, but Nick had answered that he would tell them later. For now he had a situation to take care of.

Then had driven by Holly's place. The young blutbad had been surprised by his visit, but she had nodded her understanding. Her mother wasn't home, but she would stay inside and call immediately should she sense anything at all amiss. Holly had grown into a formidable woman who had learned English as a spoken and written language very quickly. She still had to catch up on school things, but she was hungry for knowledge. Monroe had helped in his own way, always there in case she wanted to talk, showing her what it meant to be a blutbad among humans.

Nick had no idea if his mother knew everyone he had helped over the years by now, or how much help she could raise from a town she had arrived in just a few days ago and that was a protected city. He was just being careful, especially since so far Kelly had gone after the predators..

X

That he found no trace of Kelly Burkhardt anywhere he looked shouldn't have surprised him.

She was good.

It was how she had survived for eighteen years.

By nightfall he returned to Renard's place. Sean was there, talking to Frank, and Barry had claimed the TV, watching something or other. It looked like a live concert. He was wearing headphones.

Renard shot him a calm look and Nick shook his head. "I have no idea where she is. No one I called reported anything of what happened to you guys."

Frank rose. "I already told the Guardian that Barry and I will return to our home. You said it yourself: the Grimm wants to know who your allies are. She threatened but didn't kill." He glanced at Renard. "And he told me who she is."

Nick grimaced. "Yeah. I'm sorry, Frank. Really."

"It's not your fault, Nick. I still stand by what I told you when this started: I am your friend. I trust you. You can come to me if you need my help. I'm very much aware of the consequences, of what others might think of me. Monroe and Rosalee and Bud and Victoria… we all know it. We got into this voluntarily. You never forced this on us."

"But it's also not like I didn't force myself into your lives."

The jagerbar chuckled softly, glancing at his son. "You gave me my son back. Any other Grimm would have killed him."

Like his mother. She would probably have killed the whole family because of what they were.

"Jagerbar aren't the kind of wesen to follow, Nick. We choose our friends and allies carefully. As a Grimm you aren't the likeliest choice, but you were my free choice."

"A choice you might regret one day."

"I doubt it. Don't think all of us are unable to defend ourselves. I wouldn't just roll over and let myself be decapitated. I fight for what I believe in, and I believe in what you are, what you represent."

Nick was touched by the words. But still… "I endanger you and Barry. Your family."

"We are fine and we will continue being fine. Thank you for what you did today. I appreciate it." Frank smiled calmly and clasped Nick's shoulder. "Thank you."

Renard stayed back, looking tall and controlled and just a little bit proud. He nodded his good-bye when the two jagerbars left, then turned to Nick.

"She disappeared," he only stated.

"Yeah. No one else heard or felt anything. Which I'm glad for, really. It's just… she hasn't been in my life for even twenty-four hours and by now she is threatening my friends and digging around in a past she never lived with me either!"

Sean regarded him calmly. "She wants to understand," he repeated his earlier statement.

"I already told her everything! This isn't the way to handle things!"

He carefully approached the still agitated man. "Nick."

"She barged into my life, told me everything was a lie, that she isn't dead, and now she keeps messing up everything I built in the past years!"

"Nick," he repeated softly, slipping an arm around the narrow waist.

Nick let himself get pulled to the taller man, feeling part of the tension drain away. Lips brushed over his temple. He closed his eyes and tried to let go of the rest of his anger. Sean's strength washed over him through the bond, which he opened only slowly now It took a load off his shoulders and he tried not to think of what had happened today, what might still happened throughout the night.

"You have good friends," Sean said softly.

He drew back a little, a mild frown on his features.

"Frank and I talked a little. About you. How you met. What happened. What he said wasn't a lie, Nick. He is your friend and he will continue being your friend. No matter what."

"It shouldn't have come to this."

"It happened. You dealt with it. Are Monroe and Rosalee okay?"

He nodded. "I'll call him again later."

"Mother-hen," Renard teased.

Nick scowled and pushed away, walking over to the kitchen. He got himself a soda, not a beer, and rooted around the leftovers until he had something he liked. The microwave heated up the chicken-noodle-vegetable mix and Renard changed out of his suit and tie into a more comfortable outfit. By the way Nick's eyes travelled along the lines of his body he approved of the loose, black pants and the matching black shirt. His feet were bare, his approach silent and like the predator he was.

Nick just smiled. The smile didn't chase away the lines that had appeared around his eyes and mouth ever since his mother's sudden arrival, but with sleep and some TLC Sean hoped to alleviate the pressure.

Neither man felt inclined to leave again tonight. Nick called Monroe, talked briefly to him, told him again to call should something happen. Renard let him, not interfering in anything, watching him attentively. When Nick finally sat down on the couch he leaned close to the taller man.

He needed some calm and quiet right now. Renard kissed his temple, then found his lips and brushed them together. Nick was pulled into a soft, almost chaste kiss and he felt his tension drain away. Lips met, opened, tongues probed, and he lost himself in the sensation of Sean. Hands glided over his back, brought him closer. He surrendered to the gentle pressure.

Part of him grumbled at his easy surrender to the regnant. It was the Grimm part he shushed and then ignored. He didn't want to fight right now, he didn't want to push back and establish he wasn't a submissive to the powerful Guardian. He had fought in various ways these past twenty-four and he needed a time out.

Green eyes regarded him calmly. There was knowledge and understanding and Sean kissed him again. It was far from dominant, simply reassuring and warm.

Nick continued to ignore his Grimm side.

He really ignored it when his mate slid down in front of the couch, kneeling between his legs, and slipped his pants off him. Nick's head fell back as a talented mouth and tongue licked along his very much interested cock.

Nick closed his eyes in bliss. An absent-minded brush of fingers over his cock, a tongue darting out, lips closing over the head. He had started to slide down a little more and his hips bucked involuntarily as Sean proceeded to suck harder. He smiled when Nick's hooded eyes met his, closing his fist around the hard length, squeezing.

A low moan escaped Nick and he was making moves to follow that sweet touch. Renard fondled him, rubbing, licking, sucking, massaging, and generally driving his Grimm crazy, denying him release. Nick didn't know what to do. He needed release. Now! This was pure torture and his partner was enjoying it.

But the Grimm wouldn't beg. No, he wouldn't give in. No words had fallen, nothing but sensations had come over the bond, and he wouldn't be the one to cave in.

Something dragged along his painfully hard member and he gave a harsh gasp. It repeated itself, became stronger, harder, and Nick cried out. It was so incredibly good… too much! Way too much! He felt like part of his brain was short-circuiting and the pressure became too much.

Lips dragged over him, suckled, licked, kissed…. everywhere.

Nick's mouth opened and he soundlessly mewled as Renard dragged gentle teeth over him, soothing the sensation with his tongue and lips.

He wasn't going to survive this! Sean was killing him!

Feverish gray eyes opened to look at his mate. Sean's expression was pure devilish, feral lust. His lips nibbled at the sensitive head and Nick jerked, whimpering softly. Then he screwed his eyes shut again, as the feelings increased, taking him higher and higher.

iLet yourself go./i

The words were no real words, just a sensation, a knowledge, Sean's voice over the bond that wasn't even telepathic.

iLet yourself go./i

Fight the Grimm and surrender to the regnant.

Pushing back all instinct, Nick let himself fall completely, surrendering everything he was, just needing to forget, just needing to feel. He saw the realization in Sean's eyes, saw the fire that was burning brightly underneath he tightly controlled façade, and the first slip happened.

Eyes glowed a golden orange and fangs showed.

Nick didn't fight back, didn't let the Grimm show for even a second. He wanted his mate, he wanted him like that, and he didn't want a dominance fight.

Not tonight.

Renard rose from his knees and took his mouth in a forceful kiss, grinding his cock against Nick, and when they separated, the younger man pushed him back a little. The regnant frowned, a rumble rising from his chest, but then Nick turned on his stomach.

He heard a sharp exhalation of air.

"Nick," Sean murmured.

"I need you. Now. Please, Sean…"

Teeth nipped at his shoulder.

"Please…"

Understanding flowed along the bond. It was wordless, like everything else between them, a sense of what the Grimm needed. Renard would comply.

X

It was the hottest encounter Nick had ever had, counting the wild one in the woods after a mock battle, and he knew it was impossible to come this often, but his body made a valiant effort.

Sean had played his body like an instrument, had pushed him to the brink, only to stop and cool Nick down again, ignoring his breathless pleas.

He trembled in the aftermath, feeling the hard cock of Renard still in him, still moving, his hole sensitive enough to make him whine with the pleasure-pain effect, and still the regnant moved.

iDon't stop/i, he thought fiercely.

He didn't.

He came after a few more hard shoves, spilling deep within the spent man, and Nick moaned softly. He felt like pudding, all muscles limp, the warm sensation flowing through him blanketing his mind.

Sean was still covering his back, breathing hard, his weight welcome, his cock connecting them firmly. Lips nibbled their way down his neck, gentle, soft, not trying to arouse.

Nick tingled with the knowledge of what had happened, how much his surrender had unleashed the primal being the regnant was. They might not have circles of heat or take a mate like a creature in a rut did, but this had come so very close. And it had been so very good.

When Renard finally slipped out, Nick sighed softly. He let his mate clean him and then pulled him into an embrace. He was tired, felt how sleepy Sean was, and he smiled when the regnant rested his head on Nick's chest.

Still not words were spoken.

They didn't need them.

tbc...


	7. Chapter 7

The wesen community of Portland had hunkered down and carefully watched the new Grimm, and many talked softly, whispered in quiet corners, afraid what would happen. They trusted their own Grimm, but the new one was deadly. Very dangerous and deadly.

Not that Nick Burkhardt wasn't all that, too, but he at least asked questions, tried to help, and didn't go into a situation with the intent to be the last one standing.

No one cared for the schakal who had died at the hands of the newarrival, but the few who had caught a glimpse of her had been terrified. She was the nightmare of their childhood stories and the terror that was part of their heritage. She was who they feared and always would.

Monroe had had a lot of visitors in the past few days. Holly had demanded if there was anything she could do, fight the other Grimm, stake out her place, give her a warning to leave them alone. Monroe had calmed her down and told the young blutbad to keep her head down.

"This isn't her territory!" she growled.

"No, it isn't, but it's also not your fight, Holly."

"I can defend what's mine!"

Monroe smiled a little at that. Holly wasn't a wieder and she refused to curb her instincts that badly. She claimed she was part of the forest, part of the wilderness in and around Portland. She could control herself to a degree that she didn't react to red or tore apart what she deemed dangerous, but she was a true blutbad, fierceness and all.

"Let Nick handle it. Just keep out of her way, okay? This Grimm isn't a piece of cake to deal with. She will kill you without a second thought."

The young woman growled, but aside from a slight glow of red in her eyes she didn't change in any way.

X

Roddy and Drew had been speechless when they had found out about who the new Grimm was. The reinigen had been drawn between panic and a determination Monroe had seen in many of the more timid wesen when it came to a threat lately. All who had been in contact with Nick seemed to develop some backbone after a while. Drew, who was a klaustreich and more of a predator, had looked afraid nevertheless.

While those two rarely met up with Nick in any capacity, their relationship with the Grimm made them a target. Both were music students at the Hamlin Institute and there was no way they could simply take some time off. Monroe hoped that Kelly wasn't going after every single one of Nick's friends.

It would only serve to piss off the Grimm even more than he already was.

X

Frank had called him and they had talked. About what had happened, about Nick, about what his suddenly alive mother meant for all of them.

"I almost crapped my pants," had been Monroe's honest answer. "That is one Grimm I really don't want to deal with again!"

No one wanted to. But if she returned for them, they would be ready to face her. Nick was their Grimm and Portland was his territory in a way, too. He had friends here, good friend, loyal friends, and Frank had told Monroe in no uncertain terms that he would protect not simply his own family, but also their Grimm.

X

Word had spread throughout the network, from maushertz to schwanensee, from lausenschlange to reinigen. Even the bad elements had cowed a little and whenever Kelly Burkhardt appeared anywhere, asking questions, only the slow remained behind; or those who couldn't care less who paid them for information.

Frank in turn had done his own investigation into the mysterious woman who was their Grimm's mother and while there was little to no information, he at least got the confirmation that she was Kelly Burkhardt. Whatever had drawn her out of hiding, she was here now, disrupting the protected city, and the jagerbar wondered how long their local Guardian would sit back and watch her do it.

When he caught glimpses of hexenbiester in the woman's vicinity it became clear that the regnant was indeed not happy.

He simply hoped the fall-out wouldn't hurt their own Grimm too badly.

XX X X XX X X

Marie Kessler's grave was a simple headstone on almost bare ground. Flowers spoke of someone who had recently visited and Kelly suspected it had been Nick. Who else would give a dead Grimm this honor? Around her tall trees rose into the afternoon sky. Graves dotted the forest-like area, in no apparent order, giving the whole graveyard a less than structured appearance. In a way it was more appealing than the rows upon rows somewhere else.

She bowed her head briefly, then studied the simply gray stone. A name and two years. Birth and death. A Grimm lived dangerously. Each confrontation with a wesen might be the last. They had been trained by their father and they had had a lot of battle experience. They had been good; feared. But Marie had been slowly losing another battle. Cancer had eaten her up and Kelly knew that before the fatal diagnosis, too much else had come and gone and died in her sister's life.

She was largely responsible for a lot. Like losing the man she loved. Nick had told her about Farley Kolt, about the engagement that Marie had blown off to take care of the orphaned child. She could have lived her life with her nephew and a husband, but Marie had realized that with Kelly's death, the Grimm duties on her shoulders had doubled.

And a wesen husband would have complicated matters.

"I'm sorry, sis," she murmured. "I never wanted this. I did what I had to do and I never told you. I knew you would have kept the secret. Even if it would have broken your heart seeing Nick suffer."

She couldn't undo what she had done. A lot of decisions in her life had been wrong. Hindsight is twenty-twenty, a saying went. It was no more true than with a Grimm's life.

Nick was different. He looked closer, he asked questions, he had chosen to follow police procedure. He was an officer of the law with an edge. A Grimm edge.

"You raised him well," she continued. "He's a handsome young man with a big heart and a conscience our father never trained us to have. I see now that he is what our ancestors were so many centuries ago. I wish I understood your decision to ask the regnant for aid. You sold your life for his protection."

There was no answer, of course. Everything was silent around her, only the wind in the trees a soft whisper in her ears.

"I understand the psychic link. I know it can happen if the regnant and the Grimm match. I know what's in the books and we always wondered what it would be like, to have a wesen bonded to us. You remember those long nights reading?" She smiled sadly. "Fairy tales that were gruesomely true, more stories that no one had ever seen before, and creatures the world would think of as fantasy and myth. For us it was harsh reality and I know my life tainted my view of things. Did you know about the blutbad before you passed?"

Kelly stopped, feeling her throat constrict with emotions she never really showed. She had been on her own, without the man she had loved so badly, without her son who had been the center of their lives. Reed had been someone special. She had fallen in love with him before she had known he was a Grimm, too. Marie had teased her mercilessly about her lovestruck behavior, but she had been happy for Kelly.

And Marie in turn had found her own love in Farley. Only to lose it when fate had delivered a terrible blow.

Maybe she should look for the steinadler one day, ask him about Marie. Maybe it would catch her up some more on a life she never lived.

"I wish I could be the mother he had missed, but I'm not. He's not the child I had to leave behind eighteen years ago. He grew into a formidable man and he will be a powerful Grimm one day. You did well, Marie. I thank you for everything you did."

Kelly bowed her head again and turned, walking over the uneven ground, around roots arching out of the hard-packed earth, around trees and bushes, then suddenly stopped. Not far from her, in the shadow of a redwood, stood a man in a priest's uniform. He was utterly non-descript, with a bland face, pale, neither young nor old, the eyes a watery blue. His hair was neither stylish nor old-fashioned and his hands were clasped in front of him in a loose way.

She didn't know what had made her stop, especially since her wesen sense wasn't ringing. Not even a slight tremor gave her an idea whether this was a wesen or not. Still… the way he studied her she knew he was aware of who and what she was.

"Who are you?" she asked quietly, keeping a good distance to him.

If the priest was a dangerous wesen she was outside immediate striking distance of every predator she knew of in the wesen world. If he was something else, she might be in trouble.

"You came to visit your sister," he said, voice soft and quiet and very calm. It was almost soothing.

"If you know who I am it would be polite to introduce yourself."

His smile was barely there. "My name wouldn't help you in knowing me."

So he was a wesen.

"What do you want?"

The priest didn't move, just watched her. "Nothing at all. I have no quarrel with you, Grimm. I merely wanted to make sure peace remained on this holy ground."

"You shadowed me in your master's name?" she translated.

"I serve only one."

"And his name isn't praised in your sermons."

Now the smile grew just a tiny amount. "There is no praise needed for the one who protects."

Kelly raked her brain to find something that would fit this unassuming man. She was trying to pierce through his façade, but not a single flicker showed. He wasn't a hexenbiest, so what else served royalty?

"He is looking for you, Grimm."

"Your protector?"

"Your son."

She froze. "You know Nick?"

"We never met. My servitude to him is in shadows and silence and without his knowledge."

Something her father had told her tickled her memories. Something passed down by generations, only vaguely referenced here or there. Something no one had been able to draw because no Grimm had ever seen the wesen's true nature up close and personal.

"You are an unfassbar."

He tilted his head a little. "So you have heard of my kind."

Kelly stared at him, shocked that the confirmation was this easy. She still saw no wesen, but if this was an unfassbar, she was looking at a wesen that no Grimm had ever seen without its façade firmly in place. A creature that served royalty like a hexenbiest but in a more discrete and secretive manner. Their loyalty was legendary. They were incredibly hard to track and disappeared before anyone would see them. Legend had it they were ferocious killing machines, set on a task by their master and acting without questions.  
"Heard, but never seen."

"No one has."

"Then why show yourself to me?"

"I have no reason to hide."

"And no reason to stop me? Or has your master decided on my fate?"

The watery blue eyes never showed an emotion. "My presence here is one of a watcher, not an executioner of his will. As I said before, your son is looking for you. I believe you should go to his home."

"And if I don't, you will?"

No smile; nothing at all. "I'm merely observing."

Kelly didn't move, studying the unfassbar. The priest without a name turned and started to walk away. His movements were lithe, soundless, and his feet left minimal tracks on the ground.

She didn't follow, just watched.

And then he had disappeared between the trees.

Kelly took a different route out of the cemetery, mind still reeling.

XX X X X X XX XX X X X

She finally found her way back to her son's home. It wasn't the house Marie had lived and raised him in. Nick had told her that he had moved here, that there were wesen living around him who knew who and what he was, who had actually come to his housewarming party, and that a lausenschlange had helped him get the house at a reasonable price. A lausenschlange whose brother had been a murder victim throughout one of Nick's cases.

Yes, her son's life was… nothing like anything she could have imagined.

And nothing she could easily accept. Over three decades as a Grimm wouldn't let her.

The lights were on. Nick was home. She sensed no wesen with him, though Renard didn't really register on her senses when he had his shields fully in place. Like the unfassbar he suppressed his true nature to a degree that even emotional surges had him appear human if he didn't consciously drop the pretense.

She walked up the stairs, silently, almost like a shadow, keeping her senses peeled.

Nothing moved.

Nothing seemed wrong.

She carefully checked whether the door was locked and found it was. A smile crossed Kelly's lips; approval.

She rang the door bell and waited.

tbc...


	8. Chapter 8

He should have known that seeing his mother at his doorstep wouldn't be the heartwarming reunion he had hoped for. He had looked into her face, again wondering where the scars had come from, wondering what her life had been like in those eighteen years.

"May I come in?" Kelly asked.

She could have entered any other way, secretive and stealthy as she was. He knew she would have found a way and he wouldn't even have heard or seen her until Kelly had appeared behind him.

So he let her in. For a moment it had been almost peaceful, an exchange of pleasantries, but the things went on a steep decline once more. Nick had no idea just what launched the explosion of emotions, but it was harsh and fast and full of surging anger.

X

"What gives you the right to judge me or my friends?" Nick snapped, gray eyes blazing. "This is my life! You haven't been part of it for eighteen years! You understand nothing at all about what's going on here!"

"I understand enough," was the emotionless reply.

"You have no clue!" Nick snarled. "None! You see a blutbad and a jagerbar and every other wesen I work with and you judge! You want to be the executioner they made us into! You don't give them the benefit of a doubt!"

"Doubt and mercy gets you killed."

Nick spread his arms wide. "I'm still alive!"

"And you let a regnant bind you!"

He stared at her, fury rising. "I let no one do anything! You know as well as I do what this psychic bond means! You know it was my choice, not his!"

Kelly regarded him, pain flashing through her dark eyes. "I never wanted all of this, Nick."

"Well, I have it now! You left and only came back because of those damned coins! If they hadn't reappeared here I wouldn't even know you're alive!"

She reeled back like slapped, gloved hands clenching slightly.

"Stop hunting my friends, mom," Nick added angrily. "I don't care if you just hang around and watch them, because you let them know what you are. I'm not a child. I chose my life! Not you, not Aunt Marie! I did it all on my own!"

"I know," she said quietly and finally turned to go. "You have my word, Nick."

"Good!"

Kelly's eyes were filled with regret, but Nick didn't really want to see it.

And she was suddenly out the door. Nick stood where he was, heart hammering in his chest, breathing almost as hard as after a physical fight, and adrenaline was racing through him. He felt the Grimm on the surface, a primal power that had roared and snapped and hissed in the background, and he knew his mother had most likely seen his waning control, too.

Maybe that was why she had left.

Because he lacked control.

For all his claims that he had learned about himself, he had behaved like a rookie.

Snarling a curse he went into the kitchen and grabbed a beer.

In all his dreams ever since his parents had died, Nick had never imagined a reunion like this. He had daydreamed; fluffy and with pink clouds and general happiness. The dreams of a child. Those had vanished when he had gone to the Academy.

Now his dreams had suddenly become true – only to turn into a nightmare. His mother was an old school Grimm. Kill first, ask no questions at all.

There was a sound, coming from the kitchen. Nick had his gun in his hand and was on his feet in a second, smoothly and like a predator walking over to the back door. He pulled it open abruptly and nearly got brained by a baseball bat.

"Oh my gosh! I'm sorry!"

Nick blinked and lowered his weapon. Zoe Brannick, the maushertz living down the street, stared at him with wide eyes. Her face had shifted into that of her wesen character and only now changed back.

"Zoe?" he exclaimed.

"I… there was someone… we saw that other Grimm sneaking around! Gary said he saw her come here."

"And you came to what? Rescue me? From another Grimm?"

Zoe looked a little sheepish. "There was a lot of yelling. Maushertz have very good ears," she added apologetically, only halfway meeting his eyes.

"So you came here?"

She nodded.

"In your condition?!"

Zoe was pregnant. It had been big news and she had happily told him about it two months ago. She was almost in her fifth month and it showed only a little.

"Pregnant isn't sick," she told him sternly, all shyness gone.

Nick stared at her in disbelief. She was a maushertz. A supposedly timid creature. She was going to be a mother and she had still come here, armed with a baseball bat, just to see if Nick was okay.

"Where's Gary?"

"He's still freaked out. I said I'd check in on you, see if you're alright."

Nick smiled, warmed by her words. "I am, Zoe. Maybe your husband should know that you're alright, too?"

She squared her shoulders. "We have your back," she proclaimed, a serious expression on her face.

It was almost embarrassing. Wesen were protecting their Grimm. No one would believe it, really.

"Thank you. I hope Linda and Bruce aren't out there with shotguns…"

"No, no! I called them and they are standing by, but no guns."

iGood god!/i was all Nick could think, looking at the small but so very brave maushertz.

"Zoe, go home. Tell Gary thank you from me. I appreciate your efforts. Thank you for protecting me."

She smiled proudly and rested the baseball bat on her shoulder as she walked away. He closed the door and shook his head. He really had great neighbors.

X

Unseen by anyone, never detected by any sense of a wesen or a Grimm, the unfassbar slipped away.

XX X X X X X X XX X X X X X

The hapless melon exploded in a shower of sticky seeds, torn shell and goo. Within the blink of an eye three more followed its fate. Arrows sped through the otherwise peaceful forest, annihilating the targets, not all of them melons or cantaloupes, though all were fruit or vegetables. Monroe had created some funny looking puppets, filled with sand, straw or paper, and painted weird little faces on them. The result was always the same: destruction.

Nick tossed the crossbow, grabbed a weapon shaped like a club with studs and almost lazily twirled it in his hands, then pulverized the last target in one sharp blow.

He wasn't even breathing hard.

Monroe looked at the carnage. He stood to the side, holding a bag full of 'targets', brows raised at the result of the training session. He met the bright gray eyes.

"Dude," he muttered. "Angry much? Do I have to talk to you about the dark side?"

Nick flashed him a grin. "No. I'm good. Really."

"I hope so. I didn't know you had it in you. I mean, I knew you had the Grimm in you and I've seen you fight, but this…? If I didn't know you I'd run. Fast and far, man. Really fast. You'd see a cloud of dust!"

Nick put away the club. "Sorry."

"No, don't be sorry! You rock! I mean, you're a Grimm, sure, but this was awesome!"

Monroe's expression was one of glowing admiration and Nick had to smile. His training sessions had been guided by both Monroe and Renard, each in his own way, and he knew he owed a big part of his success to them. His body seemed to know what to do and he simply had to switch off his cop brain to function as a Grimm. It wasn't easy and it took some serious letting go to have his more primal side overwhelm the rationality and simply act and react to a threat. By now he was pretty good; good enough to sometimes even surprise his mate, who was a predator and had been raised to fight if necessary. Nick had never had to fall back on those instinct, mainly because up until a while ago he hadn't even known what he could do.

Now his body was easily falling into the moves and sometimes he wondered how he had managed to maneuver like he had. Sean told him to trust those instincts in a fight.

"Thanks, I think," Nick said, smiling briefly at Monroe.

"But you know how it is: don't let the anger guide you."

"Are you going all Obi Wan on me?"

Monroe pulled a face. "Make one reference… No, just facts. I know you're mad at your mom and I'm there with you. I know my family can make me want to tear them apart. And you have no idea what's going on at family reunions, dude! One reason I'm not going there any more. Last time we lost two cousins and a sheep dog. No one misses the cousins…"

He broke off when he saw the expression in Nick's face.

"Anyway. Family's tough to deal with. Especially when you think they're dead and gone and all."

"I noticed."

"So…" Monroe cut off the string that had kept the melon up. It was now useless since the melon was no more. "Is she staying?"

"After what happened the last few days? I doubt it." Nick sat down in a fallen tree, playing with the ancient weapon he had been trying out. "The moment we are in the same room, things escalate. She doesn't understand my life, I can't understand her decisions in the past eighteen years. She only came back for the coins, not for me. What does that tell you?"

Monroe sat down beside him, face filled with shared sorrow. "That sucks."

"A lot." Nick ran his fingers over the worn wood, the smooth texture speaking of its use and age. "I don't know what she expected. Aunt Marie never lost a word about what runs in the family. She shielded me. Maybe she had hopes it would bypass me. Men grow into this a lot later than women. Maybe she thought I wouldn't be a Grimm, though from what my mother told me even those without the active gift get told where they came from. I think my mom doesn't approve of that either. I'm not running around decapitating wesen."

"Which we wesen are very, very thankful for, let me tell you," Monroe said empathetically.

Nick smiled briefly. "I'm not that kind of guy. I never was."

"You didn't have the gruesome, bloody upbringing."

"No. And I have friends among you guys. Good friends."

"And a mate."

Nick sighed. "Oh yeah. The icing on it all. I think that angered her more than anything."

Monroe frowned. "She knows it wasn't against your will, right? I mean, it's not working like that with you guys."

"She knows, but she still hates the idea."

The blutbad huffed a little. "Screwy families."

"In a way. I never thought I had one to begin with and now that I have my mother, she's not who I dreamed she might be."

"Dreams are always just that."

Nick nodded slowly. He grabbed the bag he had carried the weapons in and put what he had used away. Monroe helped, making sure the area was clear of what might give away what had happened here. The melon would rot and become one with the forest soon.

They walked back to the cars in silence.

X

Nick found himself following Monroe to the tea shop and ushered inside. He had had no plans what to do with the rest of his day, so spending it with friends was actually a good idea. The moment he stepped into the shop, a place dominated by wood and herbs, something inside Nick relaxed a little more.

Rosalee smiled at him, warm and friendly and open.

"Hey," Nick greeted her. "I haven't said it yet, but I'm really sorry for what happened, Rosalee and…"

He was gathered in a hug that stopped him mid-sentence and Rosalee made a soft noise that wasn't really human. It was a whine-rumble, low and calming, that turned into what resembled a purr.

Nick automatically wrapped his arms around the woman and returned the hug, wide eyes seeking out Monroe, who simply grinned.

Rosalee released him and framed his face with gentle fingers. "It wasn't your fault, Nick."

"She's my mother."

"You're not liable for her actions. I know what I got into when I decided to be your ally and then you became a friend. I know things are difficult for all of us because of those strange dynamics. I can't say anyone would understand what we all have, what binds us, what connects us to you. Still, nothing has changed, Nick."

"Thanks," he answered. slightly stunned.

Rosalee smiled and stepped back. "Tea?"

"Yes, thanks."

And everything was back to normal. They went into the back and Rosalee handed him a ceramic mug filled with a dark, aromatic tea that, according to her, was stronger than a cup half the size with coffee. Nick liked the taste, though he never really drank tea unless at the shop. He felt himself relax a little, push the thoughts about his mother away, and he enjoyed the company of his friends, who treated him no different than before.

tbc...


	9. Chapter 9

**My troll is back, yay! What would I do without people giving me anonymous, so-called reviews, claiming that they have never read such trash than when they started with my Grimm fic? What would I do? Nothing! I would feel sooo bereft. And so I simply deleted what I call trash.**

**Seriously, guys! Don't like, don't read, don't review! Anonymously, to boot! Talk about being chicken. Anyway, sorry about the rant. People liek that really piss me off. **

**Now here's the next chapter. **

X  
XXX

She was gone within the week. Kelly had swept into her son's life, turned everything upside down, and then she was suddenly gone.

Looking for the coins.

Nick had given her the necessary information, explained where he had buried two – in separate locations – and where he had disposed of the third.

Sean had no idea what to think of her behavior, how she had come back from the dead all of a sudden to upset the balance between the wesen of Portland and their Grimm. He had had his hexenbiester and some not so well-known wesen keep track of her. Adalind and her sister had had a bad time keeping her in their sight, losing her more often than not. Because Kelly was good; very good. It had been her way of surviving.

But Renard wouldn't be who he was if he didn't have more than one ace up his sleeve. And the creature he had employed would have easily been able to kill the older Grimm, but that hadn't been the order. Observe, track, report back to the Guardian. It was all he had done.

Now Kelly was gone and while Renard felt relief, it had also impacted on his mate.

In a way he was relieved that they caught a case that took Nick's mind off things.

It was past midnight when Nick walked into his home, feeling tired, exhausted, and like he could sleep for a week. He hadn't seen his place for more than a few hours, mostly to sleep, in the past week. A seemingly straight-forward case had made a complete turn-around and turned into a back-breaking and mind-numbing horror. The discovery of a several bodies in different locations had turned out to be one gigantic wesen slave ring. Rehgleich, shy, timid and easily controlled wesen, were imported from mostly Eastern European countries to work as prostitutes or cheap labor under a tight and rather barbaric rule and horrifying circumstances. Whoever went out of line or was no longer useful was 'removed'. That meant killed.

Nick and Hank had seen more bodies in the last few days than the whole year. They had made progress, but the leg work and the stake-outs were tiring.

Renard had put whoever he could on the case and they were closing in. He was under a lot of pressure as well, the mayor breathing down his neck to find the killer or killers.

It didn't help that the one person in his life who had come back from the dead and made him hope for at least a little family life – as much as that was possible for a Grimm and for him in particular – had suddenly disappeared. Nick was still hoping that his mother had simply decided to take a few days, maybe lay low because of something, and would come back.

He was really hoping.

Sighing, feeling a slight headache, Nick stripped off his clothes and took a shower before he collapsed onto the bed. He hadn't seen more of Sean than what they had talked about on duty, and sometimes a brief phone call was what he had had throughout the day. He missed his partner, wanted to simply sleep beside him, feel him close, but their crazy hours kept them from even that.

Kelly wasn't gone for good. She had simply removed herself from the watchful eyes of the Guardian's lackeys and pawns. She knew the hexenbiester worked for royalty and he was that royalty, powerful but independent from the Families. That he had other, more secretive wesen under his command hadn't been far from her mind either. The unfassbar was one of them. If a regnant had an unfassbar, there might be more. She hadn't seen any of them or felt their presence, but she had known she had been under careful watch.

That she had only been watched had been another clue. Renard was carefully sounding out the waters, keeping track of her, keeping out of the conflict between mother and son and only establishing who the Guardian was by giving her a warning or two. Kelly was aware that this was as much as she could expect from him. If she upset the Protectorate any more she had no doubt she wouldn't see the unfassbar coming before he tore her apart.

So she had become a ghost again.

Her son needed her, even though he was well-protected, had a powerful partner at his side. She didn't like that combination, she felt sick thinking of the blutbad being Nick's best friend. It was unnatural! It went against everything she had ever been taught, had learned, or had experienced.

A blutbad! The best friend of a Grimm, his enemy! And a Grimm cooperating with so many different wesen, even a jagerbar who voluntarily taught him about things Nick should have learned from another Grimm!

Of course Kelly had tried to dig into that particular jagerbar's history, had unearthed many facts, and she had stumbled over so much more. It had blown her mind. And watching her son, seeing him so at ease with wesen he shouldn't be friendly with, who should be afraid of him… she had needed some time to think.

About Nick, about her own decisions, about what all of this meant now that she was forming a more complete picture.

X

The best way to do that was to find the first of the three coins.

X

She did within two days of starting her hike to the remote location.

X X X X X X X X

The place was called Under the Moon, a hip downtown club that had found its place in the basement of a large, bulky looking brickstone building from the last century or earlier. Its façade was stained a smoky black, the brickstone no longer brown but an undefined anthracite or black color, and the high windows with their ornamented frames were like black, empty eyes staring out into the city. It was three storeys high, the first floor windows barred against wanna-be burglars. The massive oaken door was wide open at the moment, releasing music and laughter, loud voices and the smell of a well-visited club into the night.

Renard looked up the impressive façade, then at the open door, which was guarded by a very impressive hulk of a man. People were milling outside, some looking hopeful, others bored. The hopeful ones were those who still had faith that one day they would be allowed to enter the Moon, the bored once were sure it was just a matter of minutes. Usually, neither had a chance.

He walked up to the door, nodded at the large man, and received a barely perceptible nod in return.

The inside was huge, but still maintained a cozy look. The Moon was raucous. Bodies were dancing to the beating rhythms drumming out of the loudspeakers. Everything was kept in a blue light, the strobes flashing over the undulating bodies of the men and women. There was a large stage at one end, currently empty except for a few select dancers, clearly not the usual run of the mill patrons. The DJ station was ensconced in protective glass and located slightly above the dance floor. A metal walkway ran around what could be a second floor of the building but what was actually the street level.

Whoever had constructed this establishment had done some remarkable architectural rearranging. You had to walk down a flight of stairs to reach the main floor, and up again to look at the dance floor from above – arriving at the first floor once more without being aware of it.

Renard maneuvered deftly through the masses that seemed to part before him without the dancers even becoming aware of their actions until he arrived at another door, again guarded by an impressive specimen. The man, though dressed in ripped jeans and a colorful shirt, still came across rather official. The earpiece and the concealed weapon added to that. Again he was allowed to enter without trouble.

The moment the door closed, the music was abruptly muffled, a soothing low volume to sensitive ears. Ascending another flight of stairs, he finally arrived in a studio-like room with a massive glass front that showed the entire dance floor level.

A few leather couches and chairs adorned the slick, crispy clean floor that was covered by a simple rug in one corner and bare throughout the rest. Glass display cases showed an assortment of strange knick-knacks. There were exotic looking objects made of glass, twisted swirls of color trapped in crystal, figurines made of finely spun gold, like skeletons of the real things, cheap looking, plastic-like toys that belonged more in a child's room than in here, and a few carved, wooden tribal pieces. All in all, it was a rag-tag collection that made no sense – to an outsider, at least.

"Sean Renard."

The voice was soft, feminine, but it held an edge. Renard turned and looked at the woman now entering the studio. She was tall, slender, of an athletic build, with shoulder-length black hair that she wore in a simple, but stunning style. Gray eyes, rimmed by mascara and just the right touch of coloring were framed by a narrow, tanned face. She moved with the grace of a cat. The woman wore blue denim faded jeans, with a low waist, boot legs, with frayed pockets and bottoms. It was a retro style jeans, expensive despite its faded look. A green round-neck, sleeveless t-shirt, featuring a Ben Sherman print all over showed off her figure, and the high-heeled boots boosted her a few inches.

"Fancy seeing you here, your highness," she said, looking Renard up and down in a very open, assessing manner. "Time becomes you, Guardian of Portland. You look good."

"The same to you, Diane."

She smiled, showing a row of brilliant white, even teeth that was every dentist's dream.

"Where did you leave your famous mate? I was hoping to meet the Grimm who has shaken up the community a lot in the last years."

Renard didn't answer, just raised an eyebrow.

"You always had a flair for the dramatic, your highness. Such a long abstinence, then you take a Grimm and establish a bond. Very dramatic."

Renard's face was a mask of politeness. "I didn't come here to discuss my personal matters, Diane."

"Of course not." Diane circled him, then walked over to on bare wall and depressed an invisible button.

The wall opened and a small collection of bottles appeared, ensconced in a glass case that Diane opened swiftly. She pulled out a bottle and filled two glasses. Renard took the offered drink but didn't taste it. Diane smirked and drank her own.

"Do you really think I would poison my Protector?" she taunted.

Renard placed the glass on a smoothly polished table. "I think you would do a lot for the right amount of money."

"Oh, cutting back to business again. Too bad. I would have loved to linger on pleasure."

Diane's face underwent a rapid transformation from sexy and inviting to brisk and business-like. She emptied the glass and licked her lips, though the gesture had little eroticism in it.

"Well, you and your little Grimm attract the exotic like a dead body does flies. You create new pools to play in, you create wesen networks." She smiled again, predatorily. "Well, your Grimm does. I was impressed. So are others. Many saw your move of protecting and nurturing the young Grimm as a foolish move, but you came out on top. You have made it to the top. You are respected, you have the community on your side. A lot of power. Powers others fear. You rule differently from the other royalty, your highness, and you know it."

Renard's face was still neutral.

"This is power others want. Something's happening out there, Guardian. Something big. It's growing, it's reaching out, and it's heading your way."

Sean's expression never changed. "Everyone has enemies."

"Of course. You, me, your lovely little plaything. But this one is bigger. It's not personal, it's all-encompassing. It follows no clear path, but you have crossed its way several times before."

Diane contemplated the empty glass in her slender fingers, then dipped one index finger inside and licked the syrupy liquid off her pad.

"You asked about the new Grimm in your town. Well, she came here by night, undercover, without leaving a trail to follow. My people kept an eye on her, just like you asked, and we tried to find out where she was. I can only tell you this much, Guardian: her path was lined with bodies. She is carnage and death and darkness. She is followed by the Families' hunters."

"Where was she last before coming to Portland?"

"Germany."

Renard let no emotions show.

"And her death toll was massive. Her name is unknown, her place within the community non-existant. She is a rogue, my Protector. I believe you know what that means for all of here, under your rule."

Renard's smile was chilling. "Yes, I do.

"Heed my words," Diane added. "She is one of those we fear, one of those we hunt no matter what before she kills us."

"I always do. Except when they were connected to sexual innuendos."

She laughed. "You know about sexual energy, Sean," she purred. "I know about the perfection that a Grimm and a regnant are. You are that perfection. Don't let him get tainted by the rogue."

Renard doubted that Kelly had that much influence on her son. Nick was also aware of a lot more than his mother concerning Portland and the Guardian who ruled it. He knew more about politics than your regular Grimm and the psychic bond allowed him an exclusive insight.

"Take care of him," Diane said, smiling widely. "He is a tasty morsel, as you already know. I wouldn't mind a taste of him."

Green eyes were cold, narrowing dangerously. She laughed musically.

"I'm not that suicidal, believe me."

"Should I?"

"I wouldn't cross my Protector. You know my loyalties are singular and bound."

Yes, he knew that. Once a nachträuber had sworn loyalty, the oath was valued until their own death. Sean knew what he had in these wesen, to which degree he could trust them, and Diane had been one of his oldest and longest nachträuber allies. She was highly dangerous, even to him, even more to Nick, but she would never go against her oath.

He turned without another word and left the club, the people again parting before him, and he stepped into the cooler night air.

Diane had given him a lot of information that, together with what Adalind had already told him, formed a more complete picture.

The Families wanted the coins; his Grimm had spread them, buried them, made them inaccessible. Nick was in danger as long as the coins remained where he had put them, but if Kelly took them away, if Renard let the rumor spread that they had been taken away, it made his city safer once more.

It would endanger Nick's mother's life, but it was a sacrifice he was about to accept. Nick was important to him; Kelly was an interruption, a danger, a rogue.

Sean knew he would probably end up fighting over his decisions with Nick again, but he didn't care. He was Portland's Guardian and Nick was his to protect. If Kelly leaving insured Nick's safety, he would gladly see her go and take the coins with her.

A small curl of hunger had him bite back an annoyed growl. Even now, so long after he had been under the complete influence of the damned relics, did the thought of their feel, their sight, their very energy have him lust for a renewed possession.

Deep inside something else uncurled, warmer, with more energy than the coins could ever have, and he reached for it. The point where the psychic link connected him to Nick pulsed reassuringly and he took strength from that. His Grimm was the only addiction he needed.


	10. Chapter 10

"Oh my god, what happened? Did you get your mate pregnant?"

Renard rolled his eyes. He knew why he actually never called his sister and hadn't in the past ten or more years. Up until the day Nick Burkhardt had stepped into his life as his mate, contact with any member of his family had been close to non-existant. Nick had instated a regular contact, talked to Mireille a lot, and she knew more about Sean and Nick than the regnant was comfortable with. Family bonds weren't something the regnant wesen cultivated.

Now he had picked up the phone and called his older sister.

"No," Renard sighed. "You know Nick is a man, right?"

"Of course I know your handsome mate is a man." She sounded almost playful. "But stranger things have happened."

"No, they haven't."

"You are calling me, brother dearest. That is one of those strange things. Something happened. If it didn't happen to Nick, it happened to you."

"Don't even ask the question."

She laughed softly. "Then I won't. What gives me the honor of your call, Sean?"

"Portland was visited by a Grimm," he said carefully.

Mireille made an interested sound.

"Her name is Kelly Burkhardt."

The interested sound became a hiss of surprise. "Burkhardt?"

"Nick's mother."

"The one who is supposed to be dead?"

"The very one."

"And she isn't dead, I presume."

"Not so much."

"And she remained alive?"

"I didn't touch her."

Mireille exhaled sharply. "I think you should start from the beginning, Sean."

And he did. His sister listened attentively, asking only a few questions, and in the end her voice was serious and even, no more humor in it.

"You might have a problem if she doesn't take the coins to be destroyed."

"I know."

"Even if she can only get to two of them it's very dangerous. They are powerful. And if she isn't as truthful and honest as Nick wants her to be, she could wreak a lot of havoc. More than she probably already has."

Sean rubbed his forehead with gentle pressure. "I know. Nick's emotionally… upset."

"Who wouldn't be?"

"There are people keeping an eye on Kelly Burkhardt, but if she finds out, she can mostly ditch any tail I put on her. She's good. And if she works for one of the Families or even someone outside, she will look for a shadow."

"And if someone takes the coins from here the suspicion falls right back on you," Mireille concluded.

"Correct. The only good side is the fact that Nick disposed of the third coin in a way that she wouldn't get to it easily. Actually, it's pretty hard to find it, let alone get to it."

"Hm, yes, the only good side. While I agree that spreading them all over the place was a good decision on his part, right now it makes dealing with the potential threat even more impossible. Add to that the warning from your nachräuber, you should lock down and buckle up."

He smiled tightly. "I already started."

Renard had never loosened his guard over the city, had never let anything slip. He had enough wesen at his beck and call to deal with the unsavory elements and scare off those unwanted within the limits of his Protectorate. Kelly Burkhardt had upset the balance and he was reaffirming control with a tight hand.

"You are gaining in rank and power and standing, Sean," Mireille told him, voice even and very serious again. "Your Protectorate might not span a continent or just the east coast, but Portland has become important, like a focal point from where your unconsciously reach out to others, drawing in those looking for a safe haven. Nick gives you that importance."

"I'm aware of it."

"You were aware of it when you initiated the psychic bond. It's why you wanted him in your Territory," she corrected him. "The Grimm accepting the psychic bond caused some waves already. And I'm not just talking about Maurice."

Renard grimaced.

"That you and Nick became more than that, that you and him are now mates, it hit the grapevine and it's been growing ever since. There are so few couplings like this in our history. There are so many Grimms who just hate and kill. You're special, Sean, and it makes you a target."

"I've always been a target, Mireille," he said calmly.

"As all of us are. The Royal Families despise us for the respect we gather from those we don't even rule."

Because regnants chose a city and stayed there. Mireille as very much part of London and while she had touched some of the closer cities, she wasn't proclaiming them her Territory. Maurice, for his pompous manner and arrogance had never stepped outside his own Protectorate to claim the whole country or even the continent of South America. Any regnant who had ever had those flights of fancy had come down hard enough to destroy themselves and leave his legacy to be plundered and destroyed.

No, they had small Protectorates compared to what the Royal Families wanted.

"I don't plan to encroach on their territory."

"Just watch your back. And Nick's. I know he can take care of himself, but they are dangerous. They have dark resources to draw from, assassins to send after you. Be careful, brother."

"So should you," he replied, voice intense, trying not to worry too much.

"Maurice and I aren't on their top ten list. We aren't mated to Grimms. In a royal line the youngest son without an heir on his own might not avail to much, but as regnants we're not following that outdated practice. You're the most dangerous of us and the one most in danger. So please be careful, Sean. You and Nick both."

"We will. Mireille… follow your own advice: be careful. Tell Andrew. And you might want to call Maurice. Keep a low profile."

"Call. If anything happens, call."

Sean gave that promise and they ended the call on that note. He gazed the now dark cell, thoughts whirling. Finally he placed another call from a second phone.

It was time to place another call.

X XX X XXXXXXXXXX X X

It was three days later that the case cracked when the evidence finally came through. The last piece to complete the puzzle had been with the victim found in the early morning hours of the day before. Nick, Rosalee and Monroe had found scared rehgleich, barely speaking or understanding English, in the back rooms. They had recognized him as a Grimm, frightened more of him than their captors, and it had been Rosalee of all people who had managed to get them to calm down before the Portland PD had arrived an hour later.

The rehgleich had been taken into protective custody and social services would try and find shelter for them until it was decided whether they would be deported or not. Renard would make sure nothing happened to the skittish wesen. Nick had made himself scarce, trying not to scare them even more.

The Grimm rubbed his aching arm. One of the suspects, a jagerbar, had kicked him hard, slamming his arm against the wall and had come just shy of breaking it. He knew it would have been a lot, lot worse if not for the rigorous training he had received by Renard and Monroe. Still, he would have bruises and it didn't help that some of them were already visible around his neck. The same guy, a hulk of a man, had grabbed him around the throat to strangle him.

It wasn't until he tried to insert his key into the lock and it didn't fit that Nick realized he had driven to Sean's place. His exhausted mind had probably just shut down and made him come here. So he picked the right key and let himself in, hoping that Sean didn't mind. His partner was probably still at the precinct, dealing with the bureaucracy, the press, the council and whatnot.

Nick showered and changed into sweat pants and an old t-shirt, sinking onto the couch with a relieved sigh. Everything hurt. He felt like one big bruise.

In the back of his mind his mother still occupied his thoughts. He wondered where she was, how she was, if anyone had followed her, if she was already in possession of the two easily unearthed coins, if she was trying to get to the third, which might already have been buried by tons of rock.

He missed her.

Now more than ever that he knew she was alive and a target of the Families.

The pain was spiking and he briefly closed his eyes, drawing a deep breath. It had been a really bad week, full of memories and the repeated feeling of betrayal.

X

He must have drifted off because when he woke next it was to the presence of Renard, carrying a mug of what looked like tea, already changed out of his suit and tie, and smiling down at him.

"Hey," Nick murmured. "Uh, sorry. Must have dozed off."

"You look tired, Nick," Sean only remarked.

"Feel like hell."

"Tough arrest."

"Huh. Yeah."

Nick got up, stretching carefully. Everything twinged painfully and he barely suppressed a wince. Renard had left the tea on the table and now ran a close eye over the younger man. He reached out, finger tips barely touching the ugly bruises on Nick's throat. He carefully cupped the injured neck and Nick let himself get pulled into a kiss.

It was so wonderful to touch his mate, to feel his warmth. He slid his arms around Renard, pulled him closer, ignoring the protests from his side, his arm and his neck.

"Missed you," Nick breathed when they separated.

"Same here." Sean was still caressing the injury.

"I'm fine," Nick told him.

"You're not. I know what happened. You hurt."

Not just physically. Emotionally was a much bigger pain. Nick was trying not to show it, but the whole mess with his mother had left wounds where old scars had been before.

"It's okay, Sean, really. It's not like it hasn't happened before." He gave the other a slightly wry smile. "And right now I don't care. I just want to be with you."

They kissed again, deeply, with a simmering heat. Sean's hands slid under the old t-shirt, caressing bare skin, and Nick murmured his approval. With the couch behind him he was trapped in Renard's arms, and he didn't mind. Not one bit.

"Want you," he said once more, enforcing the need with his hands running over Renard's firm behind.

"You're exhausted," his mate replied, nuzzling his neck.

"I can sleep later."

The green eyes sparkled and Sean kissed him once more, more hunger in the intimate contact, and those strong hands were suddenly a lot more explorative. Nick groaned as his rising erection was squeezed through his pants.

"Sean…"

And then Sean was suddenly on his knees and pulling down the sweats. He gave Nick no time to think as he took the semi-hardness into his mouth. The Grimm groaned again, hips pushing forward, and he grew harder in the hot mouth.

"God, Sean, yes!" he hissed. "Yes!"

His mate was ferocious, sucking hard, giving him no time to catch a clear thought. Hands fondled his balls, fingers brushed over sensitive skin, teasing, caressing, driving him nuts. A cry left his lips as Renard suckled at the head, then swallowed him once more.

Damn, the man was too good! It wasn't the first time Nick received a blowjob from his partner, and every time it had left him breathless. Just like now, as he whined helplessly, wanting more, wanting Sean, needing Sean. One of those maddening hands slid around his hip, squeezing one buttock, teasingly sliding close to the ultimate goal, but Sean didn't touch him there.

Nick protested faintly, reaching his limit, reaching a climax that would shatter his self-control. He pleaded, he begged, he pushed his hips into that hard suction, and then he came with an outcry of relief.

Renard was still stroking the sensitive erection, smiling almost wickedly as Nick moaned softly into the hard caresses.

They kissed. Sean was still overpoweringly strong, demanding access and Nick granted him. He was pushed onto his back and Sean pushed off the sweats the rest of the way.

"I want you, Nick," he said roughly.

The Grimm felt his breath catch in his throat. As much as his body ached already, the very thought of his mate inside him turned him on.

"I'm yours," he answered, the Grimm challenging the regnant to a very pleasurable way of fighting.

It got him a growl and he licked his lips in anticipation as the other man started to undress, revealing his own proud erection. Nick reached out, but his hand was swatted away. Sean looked rather bothered, aroused to the point where he didn't need any more foreplay.

He slid into him in one firm stroke.

Nick enjoyed the sensation of fullness, heard Sean grunt, and then the other set a strong, steady rhythm.

"I love you," Sean said roughly as his hips twitched forward. "I love you, Nick."

Nick gripped the strong arms, pushing back. "I know," he replied, groaning as Sean hit the that special place inside his body that had liquid fire race up his spine. "Oh gawd…"

The regnant hissed, then snapped forward once more. For a moment he lost control over his shields, burnished golden eyes meeting strong gray ones. The regnant met the Grimm, saw his equal, and Nick dug his hands into the warm flesh, wanting more and harder and deeper.

It was over too soon, but with the intensity between them it couldn't have lasted. Renard groaned his Grimm's name as he came and Nick felt a few more drops spill from his own renewed erection.

They lay together, panting, on the floor, and Sean chuckled.

"What?" Nick asked drowsily.

"It's been a while since I did it on the floor."

"Oh?"

Sean hummed, rubbing a calming hand over the flat stomach. "It was good."

Nick turned sleepily into his embrace.

"Bed," Sean ordered and dislodged his mate under Nick's protest. "C'mon, Nick."

Nick muttered, but he got up. He almost stumbled to bed, much to Sean's amusement. He turned into Renard's embrace once more, snuggling close, and the let sleep take over.

X

Sean watched as the other man dropped off into sleep. He kissed the dark head, enjoying the closeness, the still present tingle of their rather hot sexual encounter, and he stroked over the lean back in a loving caress.

"Love you," he repeated.

Very much.

And looking into the pained gray eyes, reading everything in there… Nick was an open book sometimes, broadcasting what he felt all over the place, and it didn't need the psychic bond for Renard to read him. When he had seen the younger man on his couch, Nick had looked no more tired than at the end of every day, but there was a shadow hanging over him. Renard had a good idea what that shadow was.

Kelly Burkhardt.

The primal side snarled at the thought of the woman coming back, interfering, trying to convince her son that what he had already so successfully achieved wasn't the work a Grimm should do.

That the Guardian had used him.

The snarl threatened to escape and he reigned himself in.

He wasn't a possessive bastard, though he had felt the urges in the beginning of their more intimate relationship. It had been the primal side in him, wanting Nick, wanting him only for himself. That had evened out when their partnership had become more stable, when the balancing effect a Grimm had on a Guardian had finally worked on that part of their interwoven lives as well. Now it was the need to protect what he loved; fiercely.

tbc...


	11. Chapter 11

"What do you know… it's alive."

Nick blinked blearily into the morning light, grimacing at a rather awake Renard. From the way the other man was dressed and looked, he had already been up for a while, gone out for a jog and had taken his shower. Hair damp, wearing his dress pants and shirt, the tie still off, Sean smiled at him.

"What time is it?" Nick groaned.

"Seven-twenty."

He groaned again, flopping back into the bed. "I hate you."

Sean sat down on the mattress and leaned over the other man, kissing him. "No, you don't."

"I do," Nick insisted. "Early bird."

It got him another kiss, then Sean got up. "I'll make coffee."

Nick sighed and finally peeled out of bed, muttering to himself. He didn't have to be in until nine and he usually had coffee on the way and a bagel at the precinct. He could have slept another thirty minutes.

He showered and quickly dried himself off, then dressed. The smell of coffee was already in the air and Renard was reading the newspaper. Nick finally joined him and Sean gave him an approving look.

For a moment he did nothing, then he pulled the Grimm against him, placing a gentle kiss against one temple.

"You can't let this linger, Nick," he murmured.

Kelly. The coins. All those revelations.

"I won't."

It had been a bad week. A really bad week.

"You know there are ways to find her again," Sean said after a while, breaching a topic he wished he had already wrapped up, pushed into a drawer, locked it and thrown away the key..

"I know. And I won't. She knows where to find me should she ever want to."

"She is your mother, Nick."

"She feels like a stranger."

They had had that conversation before. This time Nick's expression was close to final. Renard was secretly relieved. There was actually no alternative for his Grimm. All he could do was be there when the memories were too overpowering again.

Nothing else.

XX X x XXX X x XXX X x XXX X x XXX X x XXX X x X

The forest around her was dense, old and barely touched by humans. A few hiking trails led into the deeper areas where only the more adventurous hikers and the rangers went. Now and then she met some wildlife that either watched her curiously or darted off.

Kelly had found the two coins Nick had hidden in this remote location and she knew that retrieving the third was going to be difficult, maybe an impossibility if she didn't employ help.

Help she couldn't use.

The coins would have anyone under their spell in a matter of moments.

So she was on her own.

If she destroyed two at least, the world was a safer place. Her son would be safer. She could spread the word that she had disposed of the unholy metal. And she could continue her hunt for the killers of her husband and best friend.

It meant leaving Nick on his own, with the Protector of Portland, and his strange family of friends.

A barely audible noise alerted her to a presence and she tensed as her senses picked up a wesen. From the eddies she caught she knew the revelation had been intentional, that shields had been dropped.

"You've come a long way," she told the silent forest.

Shadows moved and she met the green eyes of the Guardian of Portland. He was dressed in black, his features sharper than a human, but he hadn't dropped his façade, simply given her a heads-up by letting a little of himself show. Kelly knew that he was very well able to sneak up on her and kill a Grimm.

She wondered if the unfassbar was around, too. Maybe. Like a silent bodyguard.

"You are leaving," he stated.

"Not yet."

"It's impossible to get to the third coin."

"Did you try?" she taunted.

The sharp eyes narrowed, a glimmer of gold in their depths. "No."

"It's difficult, but maybe not impossible," she said, eyes darting around the forest, looking for hexenbiester or any other lackeys.

"I came alone," Renard stated.

"And I should believe you why?"

"I have no reason to lie to you. Your death won't serve a purpose."

She smiled darkly. "It would send Nick back to you completely."

The regnant's face was unreadable.

"What do you want?" the Grimm asked.

"I want to know if you are going to see him again before you leave."

"What is it to you?"

"The question should be, what is it to him, Grimm."

Pain stabbed her and she refused to let it show. Kelly knew what she had done, what emotions she had freed. She felt them, too.

"If I stay I will endanger him. And your territory."

Renard smiled, a terrifying twist of lips that let fangs peek through. "You think I would let it come to that?"

"No," Kelly answered truthfully, very much aware that he wouldn't. To a Guardian his Protectorate came first. To this one Nick did on top of that. "And you know I need to destroy the coins."

He inclined his head. "Tell him," he only said as he turned to leave.

Then he disappeared once more, the forest swallowing him up. She strained her senses for a whiff of the wesen, but she caught nothing.

"I will," Kelly only said softly.

XX X x XXX X x XXX X x XXX X x XXX X x XXX X x X

She hadn't needed the wesen bound to her son to tell her what to do.

Kelly had looked for her son at his home, where he hadn't been. Instead she had nearly given an eisbiber a heart attack. The man had repaired a window, painting the frame, and he had almost fallen off his ladder, moving away from her.

"Don't kill me!" the eisbiber exclaimed. "Nick said I could be here! He didn't really ask me to do this, but his window was leaky and with winter coming and since I had some time and please, please, I have a family, a wife and three children, please!"

She regarded him curiously. "I'm not here to kill you. You are Bud, right?"

He whimpered in terror and nodded.

"You helped my son with his house."

"Oh, no, not really. I mean, he didn't need my help. A Grimm never needs a wesen's help. We wouldn't… I wouldn't… he talked to you about me? Oh god, please, I'm just going to leave now, okay?"

She wondered just how badly her vibes were when a wesen who Nick claimed had been around him without showing such terror and almost-groveling was reduced to this. Eisbiber weren't on a Grimm's radar. They were peaceful, hard workers, and mostly victims.

"Is Nick home?"

"N-no…"

"Do you know where he is?"

He shook his head. Kelly sighed.

"You don't have to leave. Should he be back before I found him, please tell him to call me."

"Call…?"

"He knows who I am, eisbiber."

"Of course." Bud nodded vigorously.

She turned and stopped after three steps, coming almost face to face with a woman who was clearly pregnant – and carrying a baseball bat. She looked determined, bravely facing Kelly, who saw brief shifts to maushertz and back.

Kelly smiled a little.

Strange dynamics, yes, but she was slowly seeing the appeal of it. Nick had a row of defenders who weren't afraid of showing a little force. A pick-up stopped behind the maushertz woman and a man got out. He openly showed that he was a hare for a moment, then scowled at Kelly.

"Nick isn't home," he proclaimed.

Unlike the woman he wasn't armed.

"I know. And you know who I am."

The woman held on tighter to the baseball bat.

"Nothing happened, Zoe!" Bud called, hurrying over and waving at the determined maushertz. "She didn't do any harm."

"She does harm by just being here!" Zoe announced angrily.

iFeisty little thing/i, Kelly thought.

She wondered if her ancestors had some reinigen mixed into the bloodline. Maushertz weren't known for defending anyone but their family. She would die to protect her child, but to threaten a Grimm because of another Grimm or an eisbiber? Unheard of.

"I will leave now," Kelly simply said and turned, aware that a club to the head wouldn't be healthy, even for a Grimm, but she trusted in the two wesen not to take advantage of the situation.

Nothing happened.

She glanced back, saw Bud talking animatedly to Zoe and the hare.

Strange dynamics indeed.

X

She left the area, mentally going through possible places where Nick might be. He wasn't at work, that much she knew. He could be at his mate's place, which meant calling Renard and asking. Or he was somewhere in Portland, doing whatever, maybe even on a hunt.

A thought struck her and she headed for a different address, one a contact had revealed to her.

X

Monroe had a quaint little house across from the forest park. It didn't stand out in any way, but the car parked in front of it told Kelly Burkhardt that her son was here. She walked across the road and up the stairs, hairs standing on end. She was walking into the territory of a blutbad where her son currently was and it went against everything she had ever been taught. Blutbaden were vicious killers. You didn't make friends with them; you cut their heads off.

Before she could knock the door was opened and she met the clear, gray eyes of her son. She caught a glimpse of the blutbad a few feet away, looking wide-eyed and uncomfortable.

"Mom," Nick said, pulling the door shut behind her. "What are you doing here?"

There was so much hope in his expressive face, so much pain, so much… everything. Kelly knew she was going to hurt him, because she couldn't stay, she couldn't be his mother, couldn't be his teacher.

And he didn't need her as such. She hadn't been there as a mother, he didn't need a teacher, but as family… as the only living relative left… She felt his anguish, his pain, his desperation. It was what she had felt ever since revealing herself to Nick.

"I have to go," she said softly.

Nick's face crumbled a little. "Why?" he asked.

"I have two of the three coins. I might never get to the third. Destroying two will be for the best."

"So you have to leave."

"Yes." She reached out, caressing his cheek, feeling a painful knot in her chest. This was her son; she had raised him for twelve years. This was Nick and she had missed him for eighteen long years after that. "I wish I didn't have to, Nick. But it's too dangerous. For all of us."

"I know," he said, voice choking up.

Kelly fought her own tears. She knew it had to be. She knew he was safe in Portland; as safe as a Grimm could get anyway. He ahd friends and allies and… and a mate.

"Don't make the same mistakes I did. Don't leave the people you trust and love."

"Even if it puts them in danger?"

"Your blutbad friend can take care of himself. He might not be a fighter like most of his violent kind, but he can look out for himself. You told me he already did. The regnant is very well able to take care of himself. He's a Protector and that's what he does. He will defend this city and your to the blood. The others… Wesen are survivors. Those around you more than many. You cannot save everyone. I learned that the hard way."

Nick's eyes were liquid, expressing all he felt. "I thought about you all my life. Every day. Wondering… Now, having you back in it, I don't want to let you go again."

Kelly met those eyes, clearly fighting back her own, very emotional response. She opened her arms and Nick slid into the hug, holding on tight. She had caused him so much pain, back then and now. And he had fought all his life to come out of this abyss. With Kelly's return, the pain had come back and she had only added to it, would add to it now that she was leaving.

"I'll come back if I can," she whispered, swallowing her pain.

He nodded wordlessly against her shoulder.

When they separated Kelly smiled. "You're so like your father."

Nick had no answer, couldn't think of anything to say.

"I love you," she said.

"I love you, too."

She stepped back, every line in her face expressing sorrow. Nick just stood there, watching her walk away.

tbc...


	12. Chapter 12

It was hard on Nick. His mother leaving threw the Grimm in a way he hadn't expected. She wasn't dead; not any more. So he knew she was out there, hunted by who-knew-what, trying to get to some mysterious island to destroy the coins.

Monroe found the Grimm on his doorstep more often than not. It was reminiscent of the beginning of their friendship. They shared a beer, a meal, a good bottle of wine, a movie. Not necessarily all in one evening.

"Don't you have a mate to pester?" the blutbad grumbled as he cleared away the third bottle of beer.

Nick looked a little contrite. "Sorry. I… didn't mean to bother you. Sean has enough on his hands as is."

Monroe rolled his eyes. "It's fine, Nick. You can come here as often and as long as you want, eat me out of house and home, and you'll still be my best friend. Gruesome crazy Grimm mom or not."

He smiled dimly. "Thanks, Monroe."

"And everyone else still loves you, too. Bud's been calling me all time yesterday, asking if you're okay, if you need help, offering the lodge if you need it or them."

Nick blinked, looking surprised. "Oh."

"You still don't get it, do you? It's been how long? Nick, you're our friend, our Grimm, and we like you. We care about you. You might have a terrifying mom, but who hasn't?"

"Thanks, Monroe," Nick repeated, touched. "And maybe I should go home."

The blutbad shrugged. "Like I said, I don't mind. You want to hang out, you hang out. I can work on my stuff with you around, no problem."

X

Which was what happened. Nick had the TV on, volume low, watching a game, while Monroe worked on a clock.

X

Nick left before midnight and drove to his own home. He shouldn't really be surprised to find that he had someone waiting there already. Bud jumped up.

"Uh, hey, I… I'm not stalking you or anything. The guys and I decided to wait up on you, after what happened, you know, and it's my shift."

Nick tried to hide his surprise and smiled openly at him. "It's okay, Bud. Thank you. All of you. I'm sorry what happened with my mother."

Bud waved it off. "We're okay. I'll let the others know you're home."

"Alright. And none of you have to keep guard at night, okay?"

The eisbiber nodded emphatically, then hurried to his car that was parked across the street..

Nick shook his head as he walked into his house, feeling warm and touched by their worry and care. He closed the door after him.

The house seemed silent and lonely, but it wasn't an oppressive silence. It was welcoming and warm and his home. It was a house which a lausenschlange had helped him buy, a house which eisbiber had renovated – mostly against Nick's will – and a house which he shared with his mate.

He smiled a little as he stripped off his jacket and shoes.

His mother might have upset his life and didn't really approve of that life, but it was a life he loved and lived. He didn't really want it any other way.

xxx x XX xx x x xX X X X

The letter was on his desk when he came in late. Renard had been in a meeting, accompanied by good food, good music and a very good wine. He had listened, talked little, listened some more, and had shaken hands. He knew how to keep his allies close, how to be where he had to be, how to bring his point across. As a captain he might not have the political influence of a commissioner – at least on paper – but as the Guardian he had their attention. Those he had met knew exactly who and what he was, knew that he would make sure his orders were followed.

Now there was the letter.

A classic ecru-colored envelope, his name written in black ink. It wasn't sealed, simply glued shut. He opened it with a letter opener and unfolded the thick, equally ecru paper. The letter was handwritten in ink, like his name.

_I'm aware that I overstayed my welcome. I'm very much aware that your tolerance of me in your territory was due to my son. _

Renard grimaced a little. Not solely. Nick's balance to his life didn't keep him from dealing with threats the way he was used to. Kelly had survived her meddling because she hadn't poked around the real hornets' nest.

_You know why I came here and you know why I have to leave again. I love my son and the decision to leave him behind as an orphan had been the hardest of my life. I trusted in my only family to keep him safe. Marie did just that. I'm now starting to understand what she had seen all along._

_Understanding the dynamics surrounding Nick was harder. I'm still not sure what to think of his alliances. I realize that those he trusts can be trusted, that they protect him like he protected and protects them. My instincts scream how wrong it all is, but for my son it's his life._

_Like you are._

Renard's brows rose at that.

_Acceptance is hard for someone who has lived my life. My trust is never easily given and hardly anyone I met in the past two decades was deemed trustworthy. It's the life of a Grimm. This Grimm. Your lives are different, I know that now. Nick needs to live it his way, not my way._

_Be careful. Watch your back. I heard whispers, I heard rumors. You know how dangerous you are for the Royal Families. You know how powerful you are with a Grimm on your side. You will soon know what the rumor of a second Grimm in your Protectorate will bring you. _

He smiled darkly. Sean had been aware of the grapevine early on, of how his tolerance of another Grimm had stirred up those watching him, his every move, waiting for a mistake. No one had expected a second Grimm; no one had expected him to let the new Grimm leave alive. It had strengthened his position in a way that would insure the Families would keep their fingers out of Portland for a while.

_Rest assured that I will do nothing to lessen the impact of these news; quite the opposite. I have learned something from my son and that is to nurture alliances where you can find them. The Families are our greatest opponents in this game. Let them believe what they see. Let them see what they want to believe._

_Let them be afraid of a Guardian who can send out a Grimm to destroy the Coins of Zakynthos on his behalf._

_I'll see you again when I'm done._

Renard stared at the letter, which hadn't been signed. His mind was racing and he was aware what had been written between the lines.

Kelly Burkhardt had more or less proclaimed her alliance with him, telling him that she would leave that knowledge wherever she went. Portland had two Grimms, one bonded to the ruling Guardian of this Protectorate, one working like a freelancer.

He chuckled softly.

A move worthy of a chess master, he mused. It gave him a bit of breathing space to fortify his Protectorate, to prepare for the inevitable next blow to come. The Families wouldn't simply stand by and wait for him to gather even more resources, but right now they had enough to think about, enough to deal with on their own. They wouldn't act rashly; that had killed their reapers.

"Well played," he murmured and folded the letter, sliding it into the inner pocket of his suit jacket.

He gathered his coat and switched off the lights, walking almost noiselessly through the almost deserted station. He nodded at the sergeant manning the desk and two detectives just coming in for their shifts.

Renard drove home deep in thought, aware he would have to inform Nick of the letter, of the contents. It was their deal: openness. Nick would know whatever was going on politically so he could act and react according.

And this he had to know.

xxx x XX xx x x xX X X X

"So my mother, in her own way, supports you? She claims an indirect alliance?"

Sean looked at his mate. Nick was stretched out on the couch, looking more relaxed than he would have given him credit for after the revelation of the letter. Dressed in loose-fitting jogging pants and an old, faded t-shirt, he looked pliant and warm and good enough to eat.

"Apparently."

"So now you have two Grimms?" he teased.

Renard chuckled. "In the eyes of the Families."

"Appearances are everything, right?"

He sat down next to his mate, looking into the clear gray eyes. There was no anger any more, just acceptance and determination.

"Right," the Guardian murmured. "Though they wouldn't believe I could bond two to me."

Nick laughed. "I hope not."

"Only sleeping with one," Renard added, leaning down to kiss him.

"Good to hear. And it would be too creepy for words."

That had Renard chuckle. "For all involved."

Another kiss, playful and not meant to arouse.

Renard answered the kiss, which turned into smaller ones, both men enjoying the contact. When Sean drew back he brushed two fingers over Nick's temple, a gesture that was common between them, something that spoke of so much more than just sharing a physical relationship. The gray eyes were deep and knowing, Nick's face open and accepting.

X

They ended up snuggling on the couch and the Grimm very much enjoyed the tender contact. Sean was in a cuddly mood and sought closeness, either by sliding a hand under Nick's shirt or nuzzling a path down his mate's neck. The Grimm let his hand caress the broad back, felt the power in the muscles underneath the deceptively soft skin.

He pushed everything from his mind. His mother, politics, work, everything. He just wanted to enjoy this rare moment of relaxation.

Nick knew his mother would be back; she had promised. And he knew it would stir up trouble once more because Sean wouldn't be happy.

Until then he wouldn't think about it all.

There was enough to occupy his waking and sleeping mind.

xxx x XX xx x x xX X X X

She followed silently, like the shadow she had been born to be. Of a bland nature, her description never staying long in anyone's mind, the unfassbar trailed after Kelly Burkhardt. She knew the Grimm was unable to sense her, wouldn't really see her unless she wanted to be seen. Dark eyes would slide over her without recognition.

It was their trait.

Invisible to those who saw more than anyone else.

Even the wesen she passed by or met had no idea.

The unfassbar followed her target, keeping to her orders to watch and wait and report to her master. Renard wanted to know where this Grimm was going and the unfassbar wasn't shaken off lightly.

There was no hiding.

Already halfway to New York on the train, the Grimm was making good headway. The unfassbar knew where she was going, knew it was a long and dangerous road, and she would keep her alive if it came to that. Those were her orders.

Only a Grimm could handle the coins without becoming addicted to them. And she had no wish to touch them in any capacity.

The unfassbar settled back into the shadows, calm, relaxed, waiting for the next move.  
It would come.

She was sure of it.

fin for this one!


End file.
